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Note. — The  three  parts  of  this  hook  can  be  had  in  separate 
volumes  by  those  who  desire  it.  This  will  be  advisable  when 
the  book  is  to  be  used  in  teaching  quite  young  children  (from  six 
to  nine  years  of  age),  especially  in  schools.  It  will  take  some 
time  to  go  through  with  each  part  thoroughly,  and  the  pupil  had 
better,  for  various  reasons,  be  introduced  to  each  in  its  order  as  a 
new  book. 


THE 


CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE. 


$jjm  farts  in  dDnr. 


PART  I.  PLANTS. 

PART  II.  ANIMALS. 

PART  III.  AIR,  WATER,  HEAT,  LIGHT,  &c. 


By  WORTHINGTON  HOOKER,  M.D. 


(Bill)  illustrations. 


NEW  YORK: 

PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  & BROTHERS, 

PEARL  STREET,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE. 

18  82. 


Tgxt 

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THE  CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE 


FOR  THE  USE  OF 

FAMILIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 


INTENDED  TO  AID  MOTHERS  AND  TEACHERS  IN  TRAINING  CHILDREN 
IN  THE  OBSERVATION  OF  NATURE. 


IN  THREE  PARTS. 

PART  I.— PLANTS. 


By  WORTHINGTON  HOOKER,  M.D., 

AUTHOR  OF  ‘‘FIRST  BOOK  IN  CHEMISTRY,”  “CHEMISTRY,”  “NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY,” 
“NATURAL  HISTORY,”  ETC. 


tBitl)  illustrations. 


NEW  YORK: 

HARPER  & BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 
FRANKLIN  SQUARE. 

1882. 


By  Dr.  WORTHINGTON  HOOKER. 


THE  CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE.  For  the  Use  of  Families  and  Schools ; intended  to 
aid  Mothers  and  Teachers  in  training  Children  in  the  Observation  of  Nature.  In  three 
Parts.  Illustrations.  The  Three  Parts  complete  in  one  vol.,  Small  4to,  Cloth,  $1  00 ; 
Separately,  Cloth,  Part  I., 40  cents;  Parts  II.  and  III.,  44  cents  each. 

Part  I.  PLANTS.— Part  II.  ANIMALS.— Part  III.  AIR,  WATER,  HEAT,  LIGHT, &o. 

FIRST  BOOK  IN  CHEMISTRY.  For  the  Use  of  Schools  and  Families.  Revised  Edition. 
Illustrations.  Square  4to,  Cloth,  44  cents. 

NATURAL  HISTORY.  For  the  Use  of  Schools  and  Families.  Illustrated  by  nearly  300 
Engravings.  12mo,  Cloth,  90  cents. 

SCIENCE  FOR  THE  SCHOOL  AND  FAMILY. 

Part  I.  NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  Illustrated  by  nearly  300  Engravings.  12mo, 
Cloth,  90  cents. 

Part  II.  CHEMISTRY.  Revised  Edition.  Illustrations.  12mo,  Cloth,  90  cents. 
Part  III.  MINERALOGY  AND  GEOLOGY.  Illustrations.  12mo,  Cloth,  90  cents. 


Published  by  HARPER  & BROTHERS,  Franklin  Square,  N.  Y. 

Either  of  the  above  volumes  will  be  sent  by  mail , postage  prepaid , to  any  part  of  the  United 
States  or  Canada , on  receipt  of  the  price. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundrd  and  fifty- 
sevenfby  Hamper  & Brothers,  in  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern 
District  Court  of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


Children  are  busy  observers  of  natural  objects,  and  have  many 
questions  to  ask  about  them.  But  their  inquisitive  observation 
is  commonly  repressed,  instead  of  being  encouraged  and  guided. 
The  chief  reason  for  this  unnatural  course  is,  that  parents  and 
teachers  are  not  in  possession  of  the  information  which  is  needed 
for  the  guidance  of  children  in  the  observation  of  nature.  They 
have  not  themselves  been  taught  aright,  and  therefore  are  not  able 
to  teach  others.  In  their  own  education  the  observation  of  nature 
has  been  almost  entirely  excluded ; and  they  are,  therefore,  unpre- 
pared to  teach  a child  in  regard  to  the  simplest  natural  phenomena. 

Here  is  a radical  error  in  education.  When  we  put  a child  into 
the  school-room,  to  be  drilled  in  spelling,  reading,  arithmetic,  ge- 
ography, etc.,  we  effectually  shut  him  in  from  all  the  varied  and 
interesting  objects  of  nature,  which  he  is  so  naturally  inclined  to 
observe  and  study.  These  are  very  seldom  made  the  subjects  of 
instruction  in  childhood.  And  even  at  the  fireside  the  deficiency 
is  nearly  as  great  as  it  is  in  the  school-room. 

A similar  defect  appears  to  a great  extent  through  the  whole 
course  of  education.  The  study  of  the  wonderful  phenomena 


Vlll 


PKEFACE. 


which  are  all  around  us  and  within  us,  is,  for  the  most  part,  neg. 
lected,  except  by  the  few  whose  inclinations  to  it  are  so  strong 
that  they  can  not  be  repressed.  This  defect  is  well  illustrated  in 
a remark  which  was  made  by  a mother  in  relation  to  her  own  ed- 
ucation. When  at  school  she  stood  at  the  head  of  her  class, 
and  excelled  particularly  in  mathematics.  Her  remark  was,  that 
she  every  day  regretted  that  much  of  the  time  she  had  given  to 
the  study  of  mathematics  had  not  been  spent  in  learning  what 
would  enable  her  to  answer  the  continual  questions  of  her 
children.  Even  when  the  natural  sciences  are  taught,  the  mode 
of  teaching  them  is  generally  ineffectual.  The  knowledge 
which  the  mass  of  pupils  in  our  higher  schools  gain  of  Natu- 
ral Philosophy,  Chemistry,  Botany,  and  Physiology,  is  very  de- 
ficient. 

There  should  be  a thorough  change  in  this  respect  in  the  whole 
course  of  education,  beginning  in  childhood.  The  natural  sci- 
ences should  be  made  prominent  among  the  studies  even  of  young 
children,  who,  in  other  words,  should  be  encouraged  and  guided 
in  that  observation  of  nature  to  which  they  are  generally  so  much 
inclined.  In  the  different  departments  of  natural  science  there 
are  multitudes  of  facts  or  phenomena  in  which  children  readily 
become  interested,  when  they  are  properly  explained. 

In  this  little  book  my  object  is  to  supply  the  mother  and  the 
teacher  with  the  means  of  introducing  the  child  into  one  depart- 
ment of  natural  science — that  which  relates  to  the  vegetable  world, 


PKEFACE. 


IX 


or  vegetable  physiology.  With  this  view,  I have  endeavored  to 
select  those  points  only  which  the  child  will  fully  understand, 
and  in  which  he  will  be  interested.  But  this  selection  has  by  no 
means  shut  me  up  within  narrow  limits.  I have  been  surprised 
at  the  amount  of  knowledge  in  this  interesting  study  that  can  be 
satisfactorily  communicated  to  the  mind  of  a child.  While  the 
fundamental  points  in  vegetable  physiology  are  quite  fully  devel- 
oped in  this  book,  I have  avoided  as  far  as  possible  all  technical 
terms.  These  can  be  learned  when  the  pupil  becomes  old  enough 
to  profit  by  learning  them.  The  facts,  the  phenomena,  are  what 
the  child  wants  to  understand ; and  these  can  be  communicated  in 
the  simplest  language,  so  that  a child  of  about  seven  or  eight,  or 
perhaps  even  six  years,  can  readily  be  made  to  comprehend  them. 

I begin  with  the  most  simple  and  obvious  facts — those  which 
relate  to  flowers — and  go  on  through  fruits,  seeds,  leaves,  roots, 
etc.,  step  by  step,  until,  at  the  latter  part  of  the  book,  the  circu- 
lation of  the  sap,  and  other  points  at  first  view  complicated,  are 
made  perfectly  intelligible.  By  this  gradual  unfolding  of  the  sub- 
ject, many  points  are  made  clear  to  the  child,  which  are  not  fully 
understood  by  many  of  those  who  in  riper  years  have ' studied 
botany ; for  in  the  common  mode  of  teaching  this  science  the 
mere  technicalities  of  it  are  made  prominent,  while  the  interesting 
facts  which  vegetable  physiology  presents  to  us  in  such  variety 
receive  but  little  attention. 

The  best  time  to  use  this  book  in  teaching  is  during  the  sum- 


X 


PREFACE. 


mer,  because  then  every  thing  can  be  illustrated  by  specimens 
from  the  field  and  the  garden,  and  the  teacher  can  amplify  upon 
what  I have  given.  For  example,  when  the  lesson  is  to  be  on 
leaves,  the  teacher  can  request  her  scholars  to  bring  as  many  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  leaves  as  they  can  find ; and  she  can  point  out 
their  differences  after  the  same  plan  that  I have  adopted,  but  in  a 
much  more  extended  manner.  Indeed,  if  the  teacher  catch  her^ 
self  the  true  spirit  of  observation,  she  will  be  continually  led  in 
her  teachings  to  add  facts  of  her  own  gathering  to  those  which  1 
have  presented. 

I believe  that  there  are  few  terms  in  the  book  that  can  not  be 
readily  understood  by  the  child.  A little  explanation  may  some- 
times be  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  especially  when  the 
same  word  is  used  as  meaning  more  at  one  time  than  at  another. 
For  example,  the  word  plant  is  used  sometimes,  as  in  the  title  of 
this  book,  to  include  every  thing  that  is  vegetable;  while  at  an- 
other time  it  is  used  to  distinguish  certain  forms  of  vegetables 
from  others,  as  in  the  expression  plants  and  trees. 

I have  made  such  a division  into  chapters  as  will  place  each 
subject  by  itself,  and  at  the  same  time,  for  the  most  part,  give 
lessons  of  a proper  length  for  the  learner.  I have  placed  ques* 
tions  at  the  end  of  each  chapter,  for  convenience  in  instruction. 
Of  course  the  teacher  or  parent  will  vary  them  as  she  sees  fit,  to 
accommodate  the  capacities  of  those  whom  she  teaches. 

Worthington  Hooker. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS 13 

II.  MORE  ABOUT  OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS 19 

III.  HOW  FLOWERS  ARE  MADE 22 

IV.  THE  COLORS  OF  FLOWERS 25 

V.  THE  PERFUME  OF  FLOWERS 28 

VI.  THE  SHAPES  OF  FLOWERS  31 

VII.  HABITS  OF  FLOWERS 37 

VIII.  MORE  ABOUT  THE  HABITS  OF  FLOWERS 40 

IX.  WHAT  LIVE  ON  FLOWERS 43 

X.  MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  LIVE  ON  FLOWERS 46 

XI.  WHAT  THE  BIBLE  SAYS  ABOUT  FLOWERS 49 

XII.  FRUITS 52 

XIII.  MORE  ABOUT  FRUITS 55 

XIV.  WHAT  SEEDS  ARE  FOR , 58 

XV.  LIFE  IN  THE  SEED 62 

XVI.  HOW  SEEDS  ARE  SCATTERED 64 

XVII.  LEAVES 67 

XVIII.  MORE  ABOUT  LEAVES 71 

XIX.  THE  SAP  IN  LEAVES 76 

XX.  THE  USES  OF  LEAVES 80 

XXI.  LEAVES  IN  THE  AUTUMN 83 

XXII.  LEAF-BUDS 86 

XXIII.  THE  COVERINGS  OF  THE  BUDS 90 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIV.  WHAT  ROOTS  ARE  FOR 92 

XXV.  MORE  ABOUT  ROOTS 95 

XXVI.  STALKS  AND  TRUNKS 100 

XXVII.  THE  BARK  OF  TREES  AND  SHRUBS 103 

XXVIII.  THE  WOOD  IN  TREES  AND  SHRUBS 105 

XXIX.  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP 107 

XXX.  MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP 110 

XXXI.  CIRCULATION  OF  THE  SAP 113 

XXXII.  THE  SLEEP  AND  THE  DEATH  OF  PLANTS 110 

XXXIII.  CONCLUSION 118 


THE 


CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE. 


PART  I.-PLANTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS. 

Flowers  in  the  garden.  The  garden  of  Eden. 

TpVERY  body  likes  flowers.  We  like  them  wherever  we  see 
^ them.  How  pleasant  they  are  to  our  eyes  as  we  see  them  in 
the  garden ! How  their  various  colors  please  us  as  we  look  along 
the  borders!  Some  are  red,  some  are  white,  some  are  blue,  and 
some  are  yellow.  All  these  different  colors,  mingled  with  the  fresh 
green  leaves,  make  a feast  for  our  eyes. 

And  then  we  love  to  look  at  each  flower  by  itself.  Some 
flowers  we  like  better  than  we  do  others.  A pretty  little  flower 
that  smells  sweet,  we  like  better  than  we  do  a large  one  that  has 
no  perfume.  The  peony  is  very  beautiful,  but  we  do  not  love  it 
as  we  do  the  little  pink  with  its  delightful  fragrance. 

It  was  a garden  in  which  Adam  and  Eve  were  placed.  While 
they  were  innocent  and  pure  God  surrounded  them  with  beautiful 
things,  because  he  loved  them  so  much.  Before  they  sinned  they 
lived  among  the  flowers  and  trees  of  the  garden  of  Eden.  It  was 
more  beautiful  than  any  garden  that  has  been  seen  since  that  time. 


14 


OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS. 


Flowers  in  the  fields.  The  early  flowers  of  spring. 

It  was  so  beautiful  that  God  would  not  let  Adam  and  Eve  stay  in 
it  after  they  had  sinned. 

As  we  roam  about  the  fields  and  the  woods,  it  is  pleasant  to 
Jee  here  and  there  a flower.  We  should  hardly  enjoy  our  walk 
if  we  did  not  see  them.  They  are  like  familiar  friends  that  we 
love  to  meet.  We  see  them  come  every  year  after  the  winter  is 
gone,  and  we  like  to  bid  them  welcome.  A little  girl,  finding  a 
wild  violet  early  in  the  spring,  exclaimed,  “ How  glad  I am  to  see 
you  again ! It  is  a long  time  since  I have  seen  you,  and  you 
look  as  pretty  as  ever!”  The  delight  expressed  by  this  little  girl 
is  felt  by  every  body  that  loves  flowers,  as  they  come  one  after 
another  in  the  spring.  How  much  we  should  miss  them  if  they 
did  not  come  every  year ! 

The  earliest  flowers  that  we  see  in  the  spring  are  the  most 
precious  to  us.  They  are  very  welcome,  coming  so  soon  after  the 
cold  winter  is  gone.  They  are  the  first  children  of  spring.  They 
are  few.  We  find  them  only  here  and  there.  But  we  know  that 
there  will  be  many  more  flowers  as  the  warm  summer  comes  on ; 
and  we  rejoice  to  greet  the  first  of  the  host  of  beautiful  things 
that  are  to  delight  our  eyes  in  the  field  and  in  the  garden. 

These  early  flowers  that  we  love  so  much  are  very  little  flowers. 
Look  at  the  sweet  little  flowers  of  the  trailing  arbutus  as  they 
peep  out  from  among  its  rough  leaves.  It  seems  as  if  they 
scarcely  dared  to  show  themselves,  for  fear  that  old  winter  had 
hardly  gone.  The  violets  too,  are  small,  and  just  lift  their  heads 
from  the  ground.  So,  too,  the  delicate  anemones,  that  are  moved 
by  the  least  breath  of  air,  are  very  small. 


OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS. 


15 


Keeping  flowers  in  the  winter.  The  little  girl’s  frozen  flower.  The  prisoner. 

We  are  so  fond  of  flowers  that  we  like  to  have  them  where  we 
can  look  at  them  in  the  winter.  We  are  not  willing  to  wait  till 
spring  comes.  So  we  keep  them  in  our  warm  rooms  on  stands 
at  the  windows.  Those  who  can  afford  it  sometimes  have  green- 
houses, in  order  that  they  may  keep  a great  variety  of  plants,  and 
have  flowers  all  the  time. 

People  sometimes  become  very  much  attached  to  a few  plants 
that  they  keep  in  their  windows.  Their  opening  flowers  seem  to 
smile  upon  them,  and  this  is  very  pleasant  to  them  in  the  midst 
of  the  dreariness  of  winter.  It  makes  a little  summer  for  them 
in-doors.  And  if  the  plants  happen  to  get  frozen  some  very  cold 
night,  it  makes  them  feel  really  quite  sad.  A little  girl  became 
very  much  attached  to  a plant  given  to  her  by  her  mother.  She 
watered  it  every  day,  and  watched  the  buds  on  it  as  they  opened 
into  flowers.  It  was  one  of  her  pets.  But  one  night  it  froze, 
and  the  little  girl  wept  over  her  loss.  She  felt  as  if  she  had  lost 
a sweet  and  ever-smiling  friend.  A kind  neighbor  gave  her 
another  plant  of  the  same  kind ; but  it  was  a long  time  before 
she  could  feel  that  it  was  just  as  good  as  the  one  that  she  had 
lost. 

There  is  a beautiful  story  in  French  of  a prisoner  who  became 
exceedingly  attached  to  a flower.  He  was  put  in  prison  by  Napo- 
leon because  he  was  supposed  to  be  an  enemy  of  the  governmento 
One  day  as  Charney  (for  that  was  his  name)  was  walking  in  the 
yard  adjoining  his  cell,  he  saw  a plant  pushing  up  from  between 
the  stones.  How  it  came  there  he  could  not  tell.  Perhaps  some 
one  carelessly  dropped  the  seed.  Or  perhaps  the  seed  was  blown 


16 


OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS. 


The  flower  in  the  prison.  How  Charney  watched  and  guarded  it. 

over  the  wall  by  the  wind.  He  knew  not  what  plant  it  was,  but 
he  felt  a great  interest  in  it.  Shut  in  within  those  walls  away 
from  all  his  friends,  not  permitted  to  interest  himself  with  eithei 
leading  or  writing,  he  was  glad  to  have  this  little  living  thing  to 
watch  over  and  love.  Every  day  when  he  walked  in  the  court 
he  spent  much  time  in  looking  at  it.  He  soon  saw  some  buds. 
He  watched  them  as  they  grew  larger  and  larger,  and  longed  to 
see  them  open.  And  when  the  flowers  at  length  came  out  he 
was  filled  with  joy.  They  were  very  beautiful.  They  had  three 
colors  in  them — white,  purple,  and  rose  color ; and  there  was  a 
delicate  silvery  fringe  all  round  the  edge.  Their  fragrance,  too, 
was  delicious.  Charney  examined  them  more  than  any  he  had 
ever  seen  before ; and  never  did  flowers  look  so  beautiful  to  him 
as  these.  * 

Charney  guarded  his  plant  with  great  care  from  all  harm.  He 
made  a frame- work  out  of  such  things  as  he  could  get,  so  that  it 
should  not  be  broken  down  by  some  careless  foot  or  by  the  wind. 
One  day  there  was  a hail-storm  ; and  to  keep  his  tender  plant 
from  the  pelting  of  the  hail,  he  stood  bending  over  it  as  long  as 
the  storm  lasted. 

The  plant  was  something  more  than  a pleasure  and  a comfort 
to  the  prisoner.  It  taught  him  some  things  that  he  had  never 
learned  before,  though  he  was  a very  wise  man.  When  he  went 
into  the  prison  he  was  an  atheist.  He  did  not  believe  there  w^as 
a God;  and  among  his  scribblings  on  the  prison  wall  he  had 
written,  66  All  things  come  by  chance.”  But  as  he  watched  his 
loved  flower,  its  opening  beauties  told  him  that  there  is  a God. 


OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS. 


17 


IIow  the  prisoner  was  set  free.  The  Empress  Josephine’s  love  of  flowers. 

He  felt  that  none  but  God  could  make  that  flower.  And  he  said 
that  the  flower  had  taught  him  more  than  he  had  ever  learned 
from  the  wise  men  of  the  earth. 

The  cherished  and  guarded  plant  proved  of  great  service  to  the 
prisoner.  It  was  the  means  of  his  being  set  free.  I will  tell  you 
how  this  was.  There  was  another  prisoner,  an  Italian,  whose 
daughter  came  to  visit  him.  She  was  much  interested  by  the 
tender  care  which  Charney  took  of  his  plant.  At  one  time  it 
seemed  as  if  it  were  going  to  die,  and  Charney  felt  very  sad.  He 
wished  that  he  could  take  up  the  stones  around  it,  but  he  could 
not  without  permission.  The  Italian  girl  managed  to  see  the 
Empress  Josephine,  and  to  tell  her  about  it ; and  permission  was 
given  to  Charney  to  do  with  his  plant  as  he  desired.  The  stones 
were  taken  up,  and  the  earth  was  loosened,  and  the  flower  was 
soon  as  bright  as  ever  again. 

Now  Josephine  thought  much  of  flowers.  It  is  said  that  she 
admired  the  purple  of  her  cactuses  more  than  the  Imperial  purple 
of  her  robe,  and  that  the  perfume  of  her  magnolias  was  pleas- 
anter to  her  than  the  flattery  of  her  attendants.  She,  too,  had 
a cherished  flower — the  sweet  jasmine,  that  she  had  brought  from 
the  home  of  her  youth,  a far-off  island  of  the  West  Indies.  This 
had  been  planted  and  reared  by  her  own  hand ; and  though  its 
simple  beauty  would  scarcely  have  excited  the  attention  of  a 
stranger,  it  was  dearer  to  her  than  all  the  rare  and  brilliant  flow- 
ers that  filled  her  hot-houses.  She  thought  a good  deal,  there- 
fore, of  the  prisoner  that  took  such  care  of  his  one  flower.  She 
inquired  about  him,  and  after  a little  time  persuaded  the  Emperor 
t B 


18 


OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS. 


Chamey  takes  his  plant  home.  Nothing  comes  by  chance. 

to  give  him  his  freedom.  And  when  Charney  left  the  prison  he 
took  the  plant  with  him  to  his  home ; for  he  could  not  hear  to 
part  with  this  sweet  companion  that  had  cheered  him  in  his  lonely 
prison  life,  taught  him  such  lessons  of  wisdom,  and  was  at  last 
the  means  of  setting  him  free. 

Some,  perhaps,  would  say  that  the  seed  of  this  flower  got  into 
that  prison-yard,  and  took  root  in  the  earth  between  the  stones 
by  chance , and  that  this  was  all  very  lucky  for  the  prisoner.  But 
this  is  not  so.  Nothing  comes  by  chance.  God  sent  that  seed 
there,  and  made  it  lodge  in  the  right  place  to  have  it  grow.  He 
sent  it  to  do  great  things  for  the  poor  prisoner.  Little  did  Char- 
ney think,  when  he  saw  that  tiny  plant  first  pushing  up  from  be- 
tween the  stones,  that  by  it  God  would  free  him  from  prison,  and, 
what  was  better,  deliver  him  from  his  infidelity. 

Questions. — What  is  said  of  our  love  for  flowers  ? Do  we  like  some  flowers  better 
than  others  ? What  is  said  of  the  garden  of  Eden  ? How  do  we  feel  about  the 
wild  flowers  of  spring?  Why  do  we  like  the  earliest  best?  Are  these  large  or 
small?  Mention  some  of  them.  Why  do  people  keep  flowers  in  the  winter  in 
their  rooms  and  in  green-houses  ? Tell  about  the  little  girl  and  her  plant.  What 
is  the  story  of  the  French  prisoner  and  his  plant  ? 


MORE  ABOUT  OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS. 


19 


Bouquets. 


Flowers  in  the  sick  chamber. 


Flowers  as  ornaments. 


CHAPTER  II. 

MORE  ABOUT  OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS. 

It  is  from  our  love  of  flowers  that  a bouquet  is  always  a pretty 
present  to  a friend.  The  kind  teacher  is  much  gratified  when  a 
scholar,  with  a bright,  cheerful  “Good  morning,”  gives  her  a 
bouquet.  Though  the  flowers  may  be  simple  and  common,  the 
present  is  a very  pleasant  one.  It  is  saying  to  your  teacher,  I 
love  the  beautiful  things  that  God  has  made,  and  I know  that  you 
love  them.  It  is  saying  more  than  this.  It  is  telling  your  teach- 
er that  you  love  her.  It  is  because  you  love  her  that  you  give  her 
the  sweet  flowers  that  you  love  so  much.  And  she  will  feel  that 
though  the  flowers  will  fade,  your  love  to  her  will  ever  be  fresh. 

Plow  grateful  are  flowers  in  the  chamber  of  sickness  ! It  would 
weary  the  sick  one  to  see  all  her  kind  friends.  But  they  can 
send  her  presents  to  let  her  know  that  they  think  of  her.  And 
what  tokens  of  remembrance  are  more  welcome  than  flowers  ? 

Flowers  are  much  used  as  ornaments,  even  among  savages. 
They  are  more  beautiful  than  any  ornaments  that  man  can  make. 
What  is  more  elegant  than  handsome  hair  dressed  with  flowers  ? 

As  natural  flowers  droop  so  easily,  we  make  artificial  ones  for 
ornaments.  Sometimes  they  are  made  so  well  that  they  look 
like  fresh  flowers  just  picked  from  the  garden. 

We  like  flowers  so  much  that  we  copy  them  in  the  figures  in 
dress  and  furniture  Gems  and  ornaments  of  gold  and  silver  aro 


20 


MORE  ABOUT  OUR  LOVE  FOE  FLOWERS. 


Flowers  in  dress  and  furniture. 


Why  God  has  given  us  beautiful  things. 


arranged  in  flower-shapes.  Figures  of  flowers  are  seen  in  the  pat- 
terns on  dresses  more  often  than  any  other  figures.  The  calico- 
printer  gets  his  prettiest  figures  from  the  flowers  that  he  sees  in 
the  field  an^  garden.  The  richest  carpets  are  those  in  which  the 
figures  are  flowers.  We  often  see  in  the  carpet  under  our  feet  a 
great  variety  of  flowers  of  the  most  beautiful  colors.  We  seem 
to  tread  on  beds  crowded  full  of  roses  and  various  kinds  of 
flowers;  and  we  have  no  fear  of  crushing  them  as  when  we 
tread  on  real  flowers.  Flowers,  too,  are  stamped  on  the  papers 
on  our  walls.  You  often  see  representations  of  flowers  woven 
in  table-cloths  and  napkins.  You  see  the  figures  of  flowers 
worked  beautifully  on  articles  of  silver.  You  see  them  too  on 
vases  in  which  we  put  real  flowers.  Flowers  are  often  carved 
in  furniture,  and  even  the  stove-maker  has  them  on  his  stoves, 
whether  they  are  made  for  the  parlor  or  the  kitchen.  Thus  it  is 
that  we  have  flowers  about  us  whenever  we  can.  And  where  we 
can  not  have  flowers,  we  have  representations  of  them. 

I said  in  the  first  chapter  that  every  body  likes  flowers.  Per- 
haps I ought  to  say  that  almost  every  body  likes  them.  A man 
may  be  so  wicked  and  so  like  a brute  that  he  can  see  no  beauty 
in  flowers.  A man  may  love  to  hoard  up  money,  so  much,  that 
he  will  not  care  about  any  thing  beautiful.  Some  men  can  not 
see  any  use  in  flowers.  They  think  that  potatoes,  and  turnips, 
and  beets,  ought  to  grow  where  their  daughters  have  their  flower- 
garden.  They  forget  that  God  has  given  us  beautiful  things 
for  the  purpose  of  having  us  enjoy  them.  God  has  a use  for  ev- 
<ery  thing  that  he  has  made,  and  this  is  the  use  of  flowers.  And 


MOKE  ABOUT  OUR  LOVE  FOR  FLOWERS. 


21 


Love  of  children  for  flowers. 


Flowers  in  the  school-room. 


he  likes  to  see  us  love  the  beautiful  tilings  that  he  has  given  us, 
and  make  a proper  use  of  them. 

Children  always  love  flowers.  The  baby  puts  out  its  little 
hands  to  them  before  it  can  hold  any  thing,  and  shows  that  it  is 
pleased  by  its  smiles  and  funny  noises.  And  the  child  that  can 
run  about  and  talk,  is  delighted  as  it  runs  up  and  down  the  gar- 
den, and  says  “ Pretty,  pretty!”  to  every  flower. 

There  ought  always  to  be  flowers  in  the  school-room.  The 
place  where  the  happy  child  goes  to  learn  should  be  made  very 
cheerful.  Pleasant  things  will  make  it  so,  and  flowers  are  cer- 
tainly very  pleasant  things.  And  then,  they  are  very  easily  ob- 
tained. Scholars  can  bring  them,  and  they  can  be  put  into  vases 
where  all  can  see  them.  Pictures  would  make  a school-room  look 
very  pleasant,  but  they  are  too  costly.  Flowers  are  cheap,  since 
they  commonly  cost  only  the  trouble  of  gathering  and  bringing 
them  to  school. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  giving  a bouquet  to  your  teacher  ? Why  are  pres- 
sents  of  flowers  so  pleasant  to  a sick  person?  What  is  said  of  flowers  as  orna- 
ments? What  of  artificial  flowers?  Tell  how  we  copy  flowers  in  dress  and  in 
furniture.  Are  there  some  who  do  not  like  flowers?  For  what  did  God  make 
flowers?  How  do  very  little  children  show  that  they  like  them?  What  is  said 
about  having  flowers  in  the  school-room  ? 


22 


HOW  FLOWERS  ARE  MADE. 


What  is  growing  ? 


Kose-budg. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  FLOWERS  ARE  MADE. 

If  you  love  flowers  you  will  like  to  know  all  that  you  can 
about  them.  It  is  just  as  it  is  when  you  love  a person.  You 
want  to  know  all  that  you  can  about  the  friends  that  you  love  so 
well.  And  if  you  love  flowers,  you  will  like  to  know  what  I 
have  to  tell  you  about  them. 

You  go  out  into  the  garden,  and  you  see  among  all  the  flow- 
ers there  a large  red  rose.  Look  at  it,  and  see  how  many  red 
leaves  it  has  all  folded  together.  How  did  that  rose  come  there  ? 
That  is  plain  enough,  you  will  say — it  grew  there.  And  most 
grown  people  as  well  as  children  think  that  this  is  all  that  is  to 
be  said  about  it.  But  what  is  growing  ? Do  you  know  how  a 
rose  grows  ? I will  tell  you  something  about  this. 

fThat  rose  was  once  a very  little  bud, 
such  as  you  see  here.  Then  it  did  not 
look  any  thing  like  a rose.  It  was  a little 
green  thing  with  nothing  red  in  it.  You 
would  not  suppose  that  it  ever  could  turn 
into  a rose,  if  you  had  not  seen  buds  turn 
into  roses  before. 

The  little  rose-bud  becomes  larger  and 
larger  every  day.  Soon  it  begins  to  open,  as  is  rep- 
resented here,  and  you  see  the  red  leaves  of  the  flower 


1I0W  FLOWERS  ARE  MADE. 


23 


Roses  are  made  out  of  sap. 


IIow  the  sap  comes  to  the  bud. 


all  folded  together.  It  spreads  out  these  leaves  after  a little  time, 
and  now  you  see  the  full-blown  rose. 

Here  is  a representation  of  a rose  in  full 
bloom.  How  much  larger  it  is  than  the 
little  bud  from  which  it  came,  and  how 
different  it  is  from  it!  A great  many 
leaves  it  spreads  out  in  its  bosom.  Some- 
times the  difference  is  greater  than  what 
you  see  here.  Some  kinds  of  roses  are 
very  large  indeed,  but  their  buds  at  the 
first  are  very  small. 

This  rose  was  made . We  commonly 
say  that  it  grew,  without  thinking  what  growing  is.  It  was 
made  from  something.  There  was  something  that  came  to  the 
bud  to  make  it  into  a rose.  What  was  it  that  came  to  the  bud  ? 
IIow  did  it  come  there  ? I will  tell  you. 

The  rose  was  made  from  a juice,  or  sap,  as  we  call  it.  This 
sap  kept  coming  to  the  bud  all  the  time  that  it  was  growing 
larger,  and  then  all  the  time  that  it  was  changing  into  a rose. 
We  do  not  know  hov. ; this  sap  can  be  made  into  such  a beautiful 
red  flower.  This  we  can  not  understand.  The  wisest  man  in 
the  world  can  not  tell  us  how  it  is  done.  But  God,  who  made 
all  the  flowers  and  every  thing  else,  understands  it. 

But  you  will  ask  how  the  sap  comes  to  the  bud.  You  see  that 
slender  stem  that  holds  the  rose.  There  are  little  fine  pipes  in 
that  stem,  and  the  sap  comes  through  these  pipes.  All  the  time 
that  the  bud  is  turning  into  a rose,  the  sap  comes  to  it  through 


24 


HOW  FLOWERS  ARE  MADE. 


Sap-pipes  and  water-pipes.  Rose-buds  are  rose-factories. 

these  pipes  in  the  stem,  just  as  water  comes  through  pipes  to  our 
houses.  These  pipes  in  the  stem  are  very  small,  and  there  are  a 
great  many  of  them.  They  are  so  small  that  you  can  not  see 
them,  but  they  are  large  enough  to  let  the  sap  run  along  through 
them. 

If  the  sap  should  stop  coming  through  these  pipes  to  the  bud, 
it  could  not  become  a rose.  If  you  pick  a bud,  you  know  that  it 
stops  growing,  and  never  becomes  a rose.  This  is  because  no 
more  sap  can  come  to  it  through  the  pipes  of  the  stem.  It  is  just 
as  no  water  can  come  into  a house  if  the  water-pipe  be  cut  off 
outside. 

The  sap  from  which  the  rose  is  made  we  should  suppose  would 
be  like  the  rose.  But  it  is  not.  It  is  not  red,  as  you  see  by 
breaking  the  stem.  It  does  not  taste  at  all  like  the  leaves  of  the 
rose. 

It  does  not  seem  very  wonderful  that  the  little  green  bud  should 
be  made  from  the  sap  in  the  stem.  But  it  does  seem  very 
strange  that  the  bright-red  leaves  of  the  rose  should  be  made 
from  it.  Suppose  some  one  should  take  some  stems,  and  bruise 
them,  so  as  to  get  the  sap  out ; of  them.  Could  he  make  a rose 
from  this  sap?  Oh  no.  This  can  be  done  only  in  the  bud. 
That  is  the  rose-factory.  The  sap  must  go  there  to  be  made  into 
a rose. 

Questions . — Why  do  you  want  to  know  about  flowers  ? Do  most  people  think  it 
plain  how  a rose-bud  becomes  a rose?  How  is  the  rose  different  from  the  bud  ? Is 
the  rose  made  ? What  is  it  made  from  ? How  does  the  sap  get  to  the  bud  ? If  you 
pick  a bud,  why  does  it  not  become  a rose?  Is  the  sap  in  the  stem  like  the  rose? 
Can  any  one  make  a rose  from  the  sap  ? 


THE  COLORS  OF  FLOWERS. 


25 


How  flowers  are  dyed. 


The  colors  made  from  the  sap. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  COLORS  OF  FLOWERS. 

I have  told  you  about  red  roses.  But  all  roses,  you  know,  are 
not  red.  There  are  white  and  yellow  roses.  And  some  roses  are 
a very  light  red,  while  others  are  a dark  red.  Now,  how  are  all 
these  different  colors  made  ? 

If  you  ask  a dyer  how  he  gives  cloths  different  colors,  he  will 
tell  you  that  he  dips  them  into  different  dyes.  He  has  a dye  in 
one  place  that  gives  a red  color,  and  one  in  another  place  that 
gives  a yellow  color;  and  so  for  all  the  different  colors.  The 
roses  are  not  colored  in  this  way ; they  are  not  dipped  into  dyes. 
But  the  colors  must  come  from  something.  From  what  do  you 
think  they  come  ? 

We  do  not  know  exactly  how  these  colors  are  made.  The  sap 
seems  to  be  the  same  in  the  stems  of  all  the  different  roses.  It 
is  not  yellow  in  the  stem  of  the  yellow  rose,  and  red  in  the  stem 
of*  the  red  rose.  The  stems  of  all  the  roses  are  green,  and  the 
buds  at  first  are  green.  But  in  some  way  all  the  different  colors 
are  made  from  something.  And  as  there  is  nothing  there  but 
the  sap  that  comes  in  the  stems,  the  colors  must  be  made  from 
this.  Air  and  light  have  something  to  do  with  making  the  cob 
ors,  but  they  are  made  from  the  sap. 

I have  told  you  only  about  roses.  But  there  are  many,  very 
many  other  flowers  with  every  variety  of  color.  They  are  all 


26 


THE  COLORS  OF  FLOWERS. 


Mixing  and  shading  off  of  colors  in  flowers. 


made  from  the  sap  that  comes  to  the  buds  through  the  stems. 
This  is  true  of  the  flowers  on  the  trees  as  well  as  of  those  that 
you  see  on  stalks  and  bushes. 

The  sap  is  different  in  the  different  trees  and  plants.  But  in 
none  of  them  can  you  find  sap  that  is  like  the  flowers  that  are 
made  from  it. 

In  some  flowers  you  see  different  colors  beautifully  mixed  to- 
gether. These  different  colors  are  made  from  the  same  sap.  In 
the  garden-violet  you  see  a purple  and  a yellow  color.  In  the 
iris  you  see  a purple,  a yellow,  and  a blue.  These  three  colors 
are  very  unlike,  and  yet  they  are  made  from  the  same  sap  that 
comes  up  the  stem.  In  the  China  pinks  you  see  a great  variety 
of  colors  alongside  of  each  other. 

Sometimes  the  colors  shade  off  into  each  other  beautifully. 
You  see  this  in  the  pink.  Sometimes  one  color  is  put  right  upon 
another  in  streaks  or  in  spots.  You  see  stripes  of  color  in  tulips. 
In  the  tiger  lily  there  are  dark  spots  of  a very  different  color  from 
that  reddish-brown  upon  which  they  are  put. 

How  it  is  that  out  of  the  same  sap  one  color  is  made  in  one 
part  of  a flower,  and  another  color  in  another  part,  we  do  not 
know.  Sometimes  two  entirely  different  colors  are  side  by  side. 
In  one  kind  of  poppy  the  leaves  of  the  flower  are  white  except  on 
the  very  end,  and  there  they  are  red.  They  look  as  if  all  their 
edges  had  been  dipped  in  a red  dye.  Now  how  it  is  that  the  sap 
should  make  the  flower  white  every  where  except  on  the  tips  of 
its  leaves,  and  there  make  it  red,  we  do  not  know. 

Neither  can  we  tell  how  one  color  is  made  to  shade  off  or 


THE  COLORS  OF  FLOWERS. 


27 


Change  of  color  in  some  flowers. 


run  into  another  color.  This  is  often  so  nicely  done,  that  you 
can  not  tell  where  one  color  begins  and  another  ends.  You  see 
this  in  the  apple-blossom.  The  reddish  color  runs  off  into  a pure 
white,  but  there  is  no  place  where  you  can  say  the  white  begins. 

The  colors  of  flowers  change  some  as  they  open.  A flower  is 
not  exactly  of  the  same  color  when  it  is  partly  opened  as  it  is 
when  its  leaves  are  all  spread  out  to  the  light.  There  is  a vine 
called  the  cobea  that  has  a singular  change  in  the  color  of  its 
flowers.  When  they  first  open  they  are  a pale  green.  They  are 
of  this  color  when  they  are  fully  opened.  But  after  a while  they 
have  a rich  purple  color.  It  is  like  the  change  of  color  that  you 
see  in  some  fruits.  An  orange,  you  know,  is  at  first  green ; but 
when  it  is  ripe,  it  is  a bright  yellow  orange. 

I might  go  on  to  tell  you  much  more  about  the  colors  of  flow- 
ers. But  you  can  look  for  yourselves  in  the  garden  and  in  the 
field,  and  see  how  differently  the  colors  are  arranged  in  one  flower 
and  in  another. 

Questions. — Are  roses  of  different  colors  ? How  does  a dyer  give  different  colors 
to  cloth  ? Do  we  know  how  the  colors  of  flowers  are  made  ? What  are  they  made 
from  ? What  is  said  of  the  great  variety  of  colors  in  flowers  ? Mention  some  flow- 
ers in  which  different  colors  are  alongside  of  each  other.  Is  it  strange  that  they 
are  made  from  the  same  sap  ? What  is  said  of  one  kind  of  poppy  ? What  is  said 
of  the  shading  off  of  colors  ? Tell  about  the  flower  of  the  cobea. 


28 


THE  PERFUME  OF  FLOWERS. 


Some  flowers  perfume-factories. 


Some  have  no  fragrance. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE  PERFUME  OF  FLOWERS. 

There  is  another  thing  in  the  flower  besides  the  color  that  is 
made  from  the  sap.  It  is  its  perfume.  How  delightful  this  is  in 
the  rose ! And  how  long  it  lasts ! But  you  can  smell  none  of 
it  in  the  sap  from  which  the  rose  is  made.  There  is  commonly 
very  little  odor  in  the  stem  through  which  the  sap  comes  to  a 
flower,  and  it  is  not  at  all  like  that  which  you  smell  in  the  flower 
itself. 

The  perfume  is  not  in  the  stem ; but  that  from  which  the  per- 
fume is  made  is  there.  Something  is  done  to  the  sap  as  it  comes 
to  the  flower  to  make  it  give  out  the  perfume.  Every  fragrant 
flower  is  a perfume-factory. 

Some  flowers  have  no  odor,  while  others  smell  very  strong. 
The  lilac  and  the  syringa,  you  know,  have  a strong  smell.  They 
are  quite  pleasant  in  the  open  air ; but  when  they  are  in  a closed 
room  they  are  disagreeable,  because  their  odor  is  so  strong. 

There  is  no  fragrance  in  many  of  our  most  beautiful  flowers. 
This  is  true  of  the  cactus  in  all  its  varieties.  When  you  look  at 
a large  cactus  blossom,  so  splendid  in  its  colors,  it  seems  to  you 
that  it  must  smell  sweet.  But  if  you  put  it  to  your  nose,  as  a 
child  is  apt  to  do,  you  find  that  it  has  no  smell.  Then  there  are 
the  elegant  japonicas,  of  various  colors,  that  have  no  fragrance. 
The  showy  red  peonies  in  the  garden  look  to  a child  so  much  like 


THE  PERFUME  OF  FLOWERS. 


2(J 


Some  both  beautiful  and  fragrant.  Variety  in  the  fragrance  of  flowers. 

large  red  roses,  that  it  seems  to  him  as  if  they  ought  to  have  a 
pleasant  smell.  But  they  have  none.  Perhaps  you  have  seen  in 
the  autumn  some  very  bright  scarlet  flowers  standing  on  a stalk 
in  damp  places.  It  is  the  cardinal  flower.  Some  call  it  eye- 
bright.  This  elegant  flower  has  no  fragrance.  And  there  is  none 
in  the  fringed  gentian,  another  beautiful  wild  flower  of  autumn. 

It  seems  enough  for  such  flowers  that  they  are  so  beautiful. 

But  there  are  some  flowers  that  have  both  great  beauty  and  de- 
licious fragrance.  This  is  true  of  most  kinds  of  roses.  When- 
ever any  one  gives  you  a rose,  you  put  it  up  to  your  nose  at 
once.  You  expect  that  it  will  smell  sweet,  of  course;  and  you  feel 
disappointed  if  it  does  not.  The  cape  jessamine  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  flowers,  and,  at  the  same  time,  it  has  a delightful 
fragrance.  The  pure  clear  white  flower  appears  very  beautiful  _ 
among  the  glossy  green  leaves.  In  a southern  climate  it  is  one 
of  the  most  splendid  of  flowers. 

Most  flowers  have  some  odor.  And  the  odors  of  the  different 
flowers  are  all  different  from  each  other.  If  you  were  blindfolded, 
and  a pink,  a rose,  an  apple  blossom,  a pond  lily,  an  orange  blos- 
som, and  a clover-head,  were  put  up  to  your  nose,  one  after  the 
other,  you  would  know  each  of  them  by  its  smell.  And  so  of 
other  flowers.  What  a variety  there  is  in  the  fragrance  that  the 
flowers  in  the  garden  and  the  field  send  forth  into  the  air ! What 
a multitude  of  different  perfume-factories  has  our  kind  heavenly 
Father  provided  just  to  gratify  us  ! 

Sometimes  a great  many  of  these  factories  of  one  kind  are  to- 
gether, and  then  the  air  is  filled  with  the  perfume  they  make. 


30 


THE  PERFUME  OF  FLOWERS. 


Clover-field. 


Grape-vine. 


Unpleasant  odor  of  some  plants. 


You  will  at  once  think  of  a clover-field.  How  sweet  the  fra- 
grance as  the  wind  blows  over  the  field  and  brings  it  to  you! 
All  this  perfume  comes  from  millions  of  little  factories.  For 
each  clover-liead  is  a perfume-factory,  as  you  may  know  if  you 
pick  one  and  smell  it. 

The  fragrance  from  the  flowers  of  the  grape-vine  is  very  deli- 
cious. It  is  of  this  that  Solomon  speaks  when  he  says,  “ The 
vines  with  the  tender  grape  give  a good  smell.”  When  the  grape- 
vines are  in  bloom  the  air  is  filled  with  their  fragrance ; and  yet 
the  flowers  are  so  small,  and  so  near  the  color  of  the  stem  and  the 
leaves,  that  you  would  not  notice  them,  unless  you  looked  partic- 
ularly for  them. 

There  are  some  flowers  that  have  an  unpleasant  odor.  Some- 
times this  is  because  they  are  poisonous,  the  odor  making  us  avoid 
them,  and  thus  saving  us  from  danger.  But  in  many  cases  we 
can  not  see  any  such  reason  for  the  unpleasant  odor.  Why  it  is 
that  such  a splendid  flower  as  the  crown  imperial  should  smell  so 
disagreeable  we  do  not  understand.  One  thing,  however,  is  true : 
the  bad-smelling  plants  are  few,  while  God  has  given  us  a multi- 
tude of  those  that  smell  sweet. 

Questions. — What  else  in  the  flower,  besides  color,  is  made  from  the  sap  ? Is  the 
perfume  in  the  stem  ? Where  is  it  made  ? Mention  some  flowers  that  have  a strong 
smell.  Mention  some  that  are  very  handsome,  and  yet  have  no  fragrance.  Men- 
tion some  that  have  both  fragrance  and  beauty.  What  is  said  about  the  different 
odors  of  flowers  ? How  does  this  show  the  goodness  of  God  to  us  ? Tell  about  the 
clover-field.  What  is  said  of  the  flowers  of  the  grape-vine  ? . What  is  said  of  flowers 
with  a bad  odor  ? 


THE  SHAPES  OF  FLOWEKS. 


ai 


Flowers  shaped  like  stars. 


Butterfly-shaped  flowers. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  SHAPES  OF  FLOWERS. 

Flowers  are  of  all  kinds  of  shapes.  The  shape  of  the  flower 
often  gives  it  its  name.  Some  are  shaped  like  stars,  and  are 
called  asters,  the  word  in  Latin  for  stars.  There  are  many  kinds 
of  these  asters  that  grow  wild  in  the  autumn.  Some  of  them  are 
blue,  some  purple,  and  some  white.  And  then  there  are  the  China- 
asters  that  you  see  in  the  garden. 

There  is  a beautiful  wild  flower  called,  from  its  shape,  ladies’ 
tresses.  And  so,  too,  wq  have  ladies’  ear-drops,  and  the  lady’s 
slipper. 

Some  flowers  are  shaped  like  butterflies.  This 
is  the  shape  of  the  pea-blossom  which  you  see 
here.  A very  beautiful  flower  it  is,  though  peo- 
ple seldom  think  much  about  it.  They  think 
only  of  the  peas  which  they  are  to  gather  by- 
and-by.  There  is  one  curious  thing  about  the 
color  of  the  pea-blossom.  Sometimes,  you  know, 
it  is,  white,  and  sometimes  it  is  a purplish  red. 
Now  when  it  is  red,  you  can  see  red  spots  all  the  way  down  the 
stalk,  at  the  joints  where  the  branches  go  off  from  it.  It  is  as  if 
the  sap  as  it  went  up  to  color  the  blossom,  left  some  of  its  red  dye 
in  these  spots  on  the  way.  You  see  no  such  spots  on  the  stalk 
when  the  flowers  are  white.  ' _ 


32 


THE  SHAPES  OF  FLOWERS. 


Bell-shaped  flowers. 


Cup-shaped. 


Funnel-shaped. 


Here  are  the  flowers  of  the  lily  of  the  valley. 
They  are  like  little  bells  hanging  from  the 
stem.  This  is  one  of  the  sweetest  of  all 
flowers.  The  little  bine-bells,  so  pretty,  and 
yet  so  troublesome  in  the  garden,  have  their 
name  from  their  bell-shape.  So  also  have  the 
Canterbury  bells. 

Some  flowers  are  cup-shaped.  This  shape 
gives  its  name  to  the  bright  yellow  buttercup 
that  you  know  so  well.  The  cup-daffodil,  as 
we  call  it,  has  the  middle  part  of  the  flower  in 
the  shape  of  a cup.  The  cup  part  of  it 
is  quite  deep.  The  flower  is  bent  over. 

If  it  stood  upright,  its  cup  would  be 
filled  with  water  when  it  rains.  The 
narcissus,  too,  which  bends  over  like  the 


cup-daffodil,  has  a little 
cup,  as  you  see  in  the  fig- 
ure, in  the  middle  of  it. 

Its  cup,  you  observe,  is 
shallow.  It  is  something 
like  a bowl. 

Here  is  a flower  of  a funnel  or  tunnel  shape. 
We  see  this  shape  in  the  flowers  of  the  cypress- 
vine,  and  of  the  tobacco-plant.  The  flower  of  the 
morning-glory,  which  you  will  see  on  page  41,  has 
this  shape  quite  perfectly.  It  looks  very  much  like  a tunnel. 


THE  SHAPES  OF  FLOWERS. 


33 


Calceolaria.  Wake-robin.  Calla.  Trumpet-creeper. 


The  flower  that  you  see  here  is  one  of  the 
varieties  of  calceolaria.  It  hangs  down  like  a 
bag,  or  pocket,  having  a round  opening  above 
The  blossom  of  which  this  is  a drawing  was 
of  a bright  yellow  color  with  red  spots  on  it. 
There  are  many  varieties  of  this  singular  flower, 
having  different  colors,  and  different  sizes. 

The  flower  here  represented  is  the  wake- 
robin,  or  Indian  turnip.  It  is  found  in  rather 
damp  and  shady  places.  What  you  see  is  commonly  called  the 
flower,  but  it  is  not  really  so.  It 
is  a covering  for  the  flowers  of  the 
plant,  which  are  very  small.  They 
are  on  the  lower  part  of  that  round- 
ed stalk  that  stands  up  in  the  mid- 
dle. This  splendid  covering  or 
house  for  the  little  flowers  is  green 
in  one  variety,  and  of  a dark  pur- 
ple in  the  other.  In  the  beautiful 
calla  the  flowers  are  small,  and  are 
on  a stalk  like  that  in  the  wake- 
robin.  That  pure  white  trumpet- 
shaped thing  that  we  so  much  ad- 
mire is  not  really  the  flower,  though  it  is  called  so. 

Some  flowers  are  shaped  like  a trumpet.  This  is  the  shape  of 
the  blossom  of  the  trumpet-creeper.  The  blossom,  you  know,  is 
very  deep.  The  humming-bird  is  fond  of  going  quite  into  it.  I 

t c 


34 


THE  SHAPES  OF  FLOWERS. 


Catching  humming-birds. 


Compound  flowers. 


suppose  he  goes  in  after  the  honey  in  the  bottom  of  the  flower. 
I have  sometimes  caught  this  beautiful  bird  by  grasping  the  blos- 
som in  my  hand  when  he  had  fairly  got  into  it.  I only  kept  the 
trembling  little  creature  long  enough  to  let  us  see  how  beautiful 
he  was,  and  how  curiously  his  long  bill  was  made,  with  its  slender 
tongue,  to  gather  the  honey.  I soon  set  him  free,  and  he  was  off 
again  as  joyous  and  as  busy  as  ever,  going  from  flower  to  flower. 

The  blossom  of  the  snap-dragon  has  a queer  shape  that  gives 
it  its  name.  By  pressing  it  together  sideways,  you  can  make  it 
open  like  a mouth,  and  there  are  little  white  things  that  look  like 
teeth.  And  then,  if  you  let  go  of  it,  this  mouth  snaps  together. 

You  have  often  seen  the  golden  rod  by  the  road-side  in  the  last 
of  summer  and  in  autumn.  Its  golden  yellow  blossoms  grow  on  a 
tall  stalk  in  such  a way  that  its  name  seems  a very  proper  one. 
It  is  truly  a rod  of  golden  flowers. 

There  are  some  flowers  that  are  called  compound . They  are 
called  so  because  each  flower  is  made  up  of  a great  many  flowers. 
The  dandelion  is  a flow^er  of  this  kind.  Each  blossom  has  a great 
number  of  flowers  in  it.  These  you  can  easily  pick  apart.  Each 
one  of  these  looks  beautiful  if  you  see  it  through  a microscope. 

The  blossom  of  the  clover  is  one  of  the  same  kind  of  flowers. 
The  white  daisy,  too,  or  ox-eyed  daisy,  as  some  call  it,  that  you 
see  scattered  over  fields  among  the  grass,  is  a compound  flower. 
I have  counted  in  one  of  these  blossoms  over  six  hundred  flowers. 

These  flowers  are  in  the  yellow  part  in  the  middle,  that  has  a 
row  of  white  leaves  all  around  it.  They  are  very  small.  But 
when  you  look  at  them  through  a microscope,  you  can  see  that 


TIIE  SHAPES  OF  FLOWERS. 


bo 


Ox-eyed  daisy.  Mountain  daisy. 

each  one  is  a beautiful,  perfect  flower.  So,  then,  there  is  a 
whole  garden  of  flowers  in  one  of  these  blossoms.  If  these  six 
hundred  flowers  could  be  taken  out  and  turned  into  large  flowers, 
they  would  make  very  much  such  a show  as  six  hundred  yellow 
lilies  would. 

The  mountain  daisy,  here  represented,  is  a 
pretty  little  flower  of  the  same  kind.  It  has  in 
its  golden  yellow  bosom  a multitude  of  little 
flowers  close  together,  just  as  our  common  white 
daisy  has.  And  around  this  yellow  part  there  is 
a row  of  delicate  leaves,  sometimes  reddish,  and 
sometimes  white.  This  is  a favorite  flower  in 
England  and  Scotland,  where  it  is  very  common  in  the  fields. 
There  has  been  a great  deal  of  poetry  written  about  it.  Burns, 
the  great  poet  of  Scotland,  has  some  sweet  verses  to  this  “wee, 
modest,  crimson-tipped  flower,”  as  he  calls  it.  Here  are  some 
lines  that  some  one  has  written  about  it. 

“I’m  a pretty  little  thing, 

Always  coming  with  the  spring ; 

In  the  meadows  green  I’m  found, 

Peeping  just  above  the  ground, 

And  my  stalk  is  covered  flat 
With  a white  and  yellow  hat. 

“Little  maiden,  when  you  pass 
Lightly  o’er  the  tender  grass, 

Step  aside,  and  do  not  tread 
On  my  meek  and  lowly  head, 

For  I always  seem  to  say, 

Chilly  winter’s  gone  away.” 


36 


THE  SHAPES  OF  FLOWERS. 


Tassels  of  the  willow,  alder,  etc.  Why  flowers  have  such  variety  of  shapes. 

Very  pretty  poetry  this  is,  but  I think  the  poet  is  wrong  in 
making  this  modest  little  flower  praise  itself. 

The  flowers  on  many  trees  hang  down,  as 
represented  in  this  figure,  in  tassels.  The 
flowers  of  the  willow  hang  in  this  way.  There 
are  a great  many  flowers  in  each  tassel.  In 
the  figure,  in  one  of  the  tassels  the  flowers  are 
fully  open,  and  in  the  other  they  are  not. 
Sometimes  they  are  very  delicate.  They  are 
in  the  black  alder.  It  is  curious  to  see  how 
different  they  look  when  the  flowers  are  open 
and  when  they  are  not.  When  they  are  open, 
they  look  beautiful,  as  seen  through  a micro- 
scope. When  the  chestnut-trees  are  in  blossom,  their  tassels, 
hanging  in  clusters,  give  them  a very  rich  appearance. 

You  have  seen  in  this  chapter  that  the  variety  of  shapes  in 
flowers  is  very  great.  It  is  almost  without  limit.  Now  the 
Creator  makes  all  this  variety  of  form  for  the  same  reason  that 
he  gives  to  flowers  such  a variety  of  colors.  It  is  to  feast  our 
eyes  and  make  us  happy. 

Questions . — Mention  some  of  the  shapes  of  flowers  spoken  of  in  the  first  of  the 
chapter.  Tell  about  the  pea-blossom.  Mention  some  flowers  that  are  shaped  like 
bells.  Mention  some  that  are  cup-shaped.  Mention  some  that  are  shaped  like  a 
tunnel.  Tell  about  the  calceolaria.  Tell  about  the  Indian  turnip  and  the  calla. 
What  is  said  of  the  trumpet-creeper?  Of  the  snap-dragon?  Of  the  golden  rod? 
What  are  compound  flowers  ? Mention  some  of  them.  Tell  about  the  white  daisy. 
Also  the  mountain  daisy.  Mention  some  trees  that  have  their  flowers  in  tassels. 
Tell  about  these  tassels.  Why  has  God  given  such  variety  of  shape  to  flowers  ? 


HABITS  OF  FLOWERS. 


37 


Flowers  turning  to  the  light. 


The  bumble-bee  in  the  tulip. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HABITS  OF  FLOWERS. 

Flowers  have  habits,  or  ways  of  acting,  just  as  people  do.  I 
will  tell  you  about  some  of  them. 

All  flowers  naturally  turn  toward  the  light,  as  if  they  loved  it. 
You  can  see  this  if  you  watch  plants  that  are  standing  near  a 
window.  The  flowers  will  all  be  bent  toward  the  light  if  you  let 
the  pots  stand  just  in  the  same  way  all  the  time.  By  turning  the 
pots  a little  every  day  or  two  while  the  blossoms  are  opening,  you 
can  make  the  flowers  look  in  different  directions. 

There  are'  some  flowers  that  shut  themselves  up  at  night  as  if 
to  go  to  sleep,  and  open  again  in  the  morning.  Tulips  do  this. 
I was  once  admiring  in  the  morning  some  flowers  that  were  sent 
to  me  the  evening  before  by  a lady.  Among  them  were  some 
tulips,  and  out  of  one  of  these,  as  it  opened,  flew  a bumble-bee. 
A lazy,  dronish  bee  he  must  have  been  to  be  caught  in  this  way 
as  the  flower  was  closing  itself  for  the  night.  Or,  perhaps  he  had 
done  a hard  day’s  work  in  gathering  honey,  and  just  at  night  was 
so  sleepy  that  he  stayed  too  long  in  the  tulip,  and  so  was  shut  in. 
A very  elegant  bed  the  old  bee  had  that  night.  I wonder  if  he 
slept  any  better  than  he  would  have  done  if  he  had  been  in  his 
homely  nest. 

The  pond-lily  closes  its  pure  white  leaves  at  night  as  it  lies 
upon  its  watery  bed.  But  it  unfolds  them  again  in  the  morning. 


38 


HABITS  OP  FLOWERS. 


Mountain  daisies.  Dandelions.  Salsify. 

How  beautiful  it  looks  as  it  is  spread  out  upon  the  water  in  the 
sunlight!  The  little  mountain  daisy  that  I told  you  about  in 
the  last  chapter,  is  among  the  flowers  that  close  at  night.  But  it 
is  as  bright  as  ever  on  its  “ slender  stem”  when  it  wakes  up  in 
the  morning.  When  it  shuts  itself  up  it  is  a little  round  green 
ball,  and  looks  something  like  a pea.  You  would  not  see  it  in 
the  midst  of  the  grass  if  you  did  not  look  for  it.  But  look  the 
next  morning,  and  the  ball  is  opened,  and  shows  “a  golden  tuft 
within  a silver  crown.”  And  very  beautiful  it  is  when  there  are 
so  many  of  the  daisies  together  that  the  grass  is  spangled  with 
them  in  the  bright  sun.  It  is  supposed  that  this  flower  was  at 
first  called  “day’s  eye,”  because  it  opens  its  eye  at  the  day’s 
dawn,  and  after  a while  it  became  shortened  to  daisy. 

The  golden  flowers  of  the  dandelion  are  shut  up  every  night. 
They  are  folded  up  so  closely  in  their  green  coverings,  that  they 
look  like  buds  that  haye  never  yet  been  opened.  The  blossoms 
of  the  salsify,  or  vegetable  oyster,  close  in  the  same  manner,  but 
not  at  the  same  time.  They  close  always  at  noon.  In  the  morn- 
ing their  tall,  straight  stalks  make  quite  a brilliant  appearance, 
each  one  having  a deep  purple  flower  at  its  top.  All  these  are 
shut  up  in  the  afternoon,  and  you  see  at  the  top  of  each  stalk  a 
large  pointed  bud.  The  flowers  of  this  plant  are  very  much  like 
the  dandelion,  "Both  when  closed  and  when  open.  The  seeds,  also, 
are  very  similar,  as  you  will  see  in  another  chapter,  and  make  to- 
gether, around  the  top  of  the  stalk,  a similar  feathery  globe. 

There  is  one  curious  habit  which  the  dandelion  has.  When  the 
sun  is  very  hot  it  closes  itself  up  to  keep  from  wilting.  It  is  in 


IIABITS  OF  FLO  WEBS. 


39 


Primroses.  Four  o’clocks.  Flowers  of  the  cypress-vine. 

this  way  sheltered  in  its  green  covering  from  the  sun.  It  some- 
times, when  the  weather  is  very  hot,  shuts  itself  up  as  early  as 
nine  o’clock  in  the  morning. 

Some  flowers  hang  down  their  heads  at  night  as  if  they  were 
nodding  in  their  sleep.  But  in  the  morning  they  lift  them  up 
again  to  welcome  the  light. 

Some  flowers  have  a particular  time  to  open.  The  evening 
primrose  does  not  open  till  evening,  and  hence  comes  its  name. 
The  flower  called  four  o'clock  opens  at  that  hour  in  the  after- 
noon. There  is  a flower  commonly  called  go-to-bed-at-noon , that 
always  opens  in  the  morning  and  shuts  up  at  noon. 

Most  flowers  last  for  some  time.  But  there  are  some  that  last 
only  a few  hours.  The  red  flowers  of  the  delicate  and  rich  cy- 
press-vine open  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  they  close 
up,  never  to  open  again.  But  there  are  always  some  buds  to  open 
every  day.  It  is  delightful  to  one  who  loves  flowers  to  see  every 
morning  a new  set  of  these  bright  blossoms  appear  among  the  fine 
dark-green  leaves  of  this  vine. 

Questions. — What  is  said  of  flowers  turning  to  the  light  ? What  do  some  flowers 
do  at  night?  Tell  about  the  bumble-bee.  What  is  said  of  the  pond-lily?  What 
of  the  mountain  daisy  ? What  of  the  dandelion  ? What  is  said  of  the  time  of 
opening  of  some  flowers  ? Tell  about  the  flowers  of  the  cypress-vine. 


40 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  HABITS  OF  FLOWERS. 


Buds  and  flowers  of  the  morning-glory. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MORE  ABOUT  THE  HABITS  OF  FLOWERS. 

You  have  often  seen  the  flowers  of  the  morning-glory.  These 
last  only  from  early  in  the  morning  to  noon,  or  a little  after 
noon.  In  the  afternoon  they  are  all  closed,  and  the  vines  look 
very  dull  without  any  flowers  on  them.  But  look  the  next 
morning,  and  you  will  see  a plenty  of  these  beautiful  flowers. 
They  open  before  most  people  are  out  of  their  beds.  And,  just 
as  I told  you  about  the  cypress-vine,  there  is  a new  set  of  them 
every  day. 

It  is  curious  to  see  in  what  way  the  blossom  of  the  morning- 
glory  opens  and  then  shuts  itself  up  to  die.  If  you  look 
in  the  afternoon  you  will  find  here  and  there  a bud  shaped 
as  you  see  in  this  figure.  The  flower  part  of  it,  you  ob- 
serve, is  twisted  at  its  pointed  end  in  a spiral  manner ; 
that  is,  something  like  a cork-screw.  This  bud  will  be 
an  open  flower  the  next  morning. 

On  the  following  page  you  see  the  flower  as  it  looks 
when  it  is  fully  opened.  * There  are  ribs  running  up  from 
the  lower  part  of  the  flower.  Each  of  these  ribs  comes  to 
a point  at  the  edge.  They  give  firmness  to  the  blossom. 
They  are  its  frame-' work,  its  timbers.  Without  these 
ribs  it  could  not  stand  like  a cup  on  its  stem,  as  it  does  now,  but 
would  hang  loosely  down.  The  open  spread  part  of  the  flower 


MORE  ABOUT  THfe  HABITS  OF  FLOWERS. 


41 


Closing  of  the  flower  of  the  morning-glory. 


is  very  thin,  and  the  ribs  are  to 
it  what  the  whalebones  are  to 
an  umbrella. 

In  this  figure  you 
see  how  the  flower 
looks  as  it  is  partly 
closed.  The  points 
of  the  ribs  are  all 
turned  in  toward  the 
middle  of  the  flower. 

They  bend  in  more 
and  more,  and  after 
a while  the  flower 
wilts  and  dies.  Now 
it  is  curious  that  the 
ribs  of  the  flower 
should  be  folded  so  differently 
when  it  closes  from  what  they  are  before  it  opens.  Before  it 
opens  they  are  folded  in  a spiral  form,  as  yon  see  in  the  figure 
in  the  preceding  page.  When  it  closes,  we  would  suppose  that 
they  would  fold  up  in  the  same  form.  But  they  do  not.  They 
bend  straight  over,  and  the  points  come  together  in  the  middle  of 
the  flower. 

There  are  some  flowers  that  open  only  at  night.  That  splen- 
did flower,  the  night-blooming  cereus,  is  one  of  them.  And  it 
opens  only  once.  It  lets  us  see  its  beauty  only  a few  hours,  and 
then  it  wilts  and  dies.  It  is  a very  large  flower,  and  its  opening 


42 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  HABITS  OP  FLOWERS. 


Night-blooming  cereus.  The  succession  of  flowers. 

is  commonly  watched  for  with  great  eagerness.  It  is  a rare  flower, 
and  it  is  only  now  and  then  that  we  can  get  an  opportunity  of  see- 
ing it.  It  is  very  fragrant.  It  opens  commonly  quite  late  in  the 
evening,  and  shuts  itself  up  the  latter  part  of  the  night.  It  never 
let£  the  light  of  day  into  its  bosom.  It  makes  us  feel  almost  sad 
that  so  beautiful  a flower  lasts  so  short  a time.  We  should  feel 
really  sad  if  most  flowers  did  not  last  longer  than  this. 

Through  spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  we  have  a succession 
of  flowers  of  every  kind.  Some  last  but  a little  while,  and  some 
feast  our  eyes  for  a long  time.  They  come  one  after  another. 
Each  has  its  own  season,  and  opens  at  its  appointed  time  every 
year.  In  this  succession  of  flowers  we  are  never  without  some 
of  them  before  us  till  the  cold  weather  of  winter  comes  again. 
God  has  thus  kindly  provided  us  with  beautiful  things  to  look 
upon,  in  the  garden  and  in  the  field,  through  all  the  warmer 
months  of  the  year. 

In  the  spring  the  flowers  are  small  and  delicate,  but  are  gener- 
ally quite  fragrant.  In  the  summer  we  have  very  many  more 
flowers  than  in  spring  or  autumn.  They  have  every  variety  of 
color  and  shape.  They  are  commonly  very  fragrant,  so  that  the 
air  is  filled  with  pleasant  odors.  In  autumn  the  flowers  generally 
have  bright  colors,  and  are  very  showy ; but  few  of  them  have  any 
fragrance. 

Questions. — How  are  the  flowers  of  the  morning-glory  like  those  of  the  cypress- 
vine  ? Tell  about  the  bud  of  the  morning-glory ; also  about  the  flower  when  it  is 
open,  its  shape,  and  its  ribs ; also  about  the  way  in  which  it  shuts  up.  What  is  said 
of  the  night-blooming  cereus  ? Tell  about  the  succession  of  flowers.  How  are  the 
flowers  of  the  spring,  and  summer,  and  autumn  different  ? 


WHAT  LIVE  ON  FLOWERS. 


43 


Food  in  flowers. 


Honey-bees. 


Bumble-bees. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

WHAT  LIVE  ON  FLOWERS. 

Flowers  are  made  chiefly  for  us  to  look  at.  It  is  to  gratify 
our  eyes,  as  I have  before  told  you,  that  the  Creator  has  made 
them  so  beautiful,  and  has  given  to  them  such  a variety  of  shape 
and  color.  But  they  are  good  for  something  else  besides  this. 
Many  different  animals  get  their  food  from  them.  These  animals 
are  very  small,  and  need  but  little  food;  but  that  little  they  get 
from  flowers. 

You  see  many  different  kinds  of  insects  about  most  flowers. 
Most  of  these  insects,  we  suppose,  live  upon  the  honey  that  they 
find  there.  We  know  that  some  do,  for  -we  see  them  gathering 
it.  We  see  the  bees  do  this.  The  busy  little  honey-bee  goes 
from  flower  to  flower,  and  gets  a little  honey  from  each.  When 
he  has  gathered  as  much  as  lie  well  can  carry,  off  he  flies  to  lay 
it  up  in  the  hive.  A great  many  bees  there  are  in  one  hive  ; and 
each  bringing  continually  his  little  load,  they  after  a while  lay  up 
a large  amount  of  honey. 

The  bumble-bee,  too,  is  busy  among  the  flowers.  See  how 
quickly  he  flies  from  one  flower  to  another,  humming  as  he  goes. 
Now  he  comes  to  a little  flower,  sticks  his  head  in,  and  in  a mo- 
ment is  off — buzz,  buzz — for  another.  And  now  you  see  him 
come  to  a large,  deep  flower ; and  in  he  goes,  almost  out  of  sight, 
and  his  buzzing  is  stopped  for  some  time.  Soon  he  backs  out  to 


44 


WHAT  LIVE  ON  FLOWERS. 


Curious  facts  about  bumble-bees. 

fly  to  another.  And  so  I19  goes  from  flower  to  flower  to  gather 
his  load  of  honey. 

I have  been  amused  to  see  how  the  bumble-bee  manages  with 
some  flowers.  The  flower  of  the  cypress-vine  is  very  deep,  but 
it  is  so  small  that  he  can  not  get  into  it  so  as  to  reach  the  honey. 
He  knows  that  there  is  honey  there,  for  he  smells  it.  Now  how 
do  you  think  he  gets  at  it  ? By  working  away  a little  while  he 
pushes  himself  into  the  flower  so  as  to  split  it  open.  And  now 
he  can  come  to  the  bottom  of  the  flower  where  the  honey  is.  In 
this  way  he  spoils  a great  many  flowers  in  getting  his  load  of 
honey. 

I have  observed  one  thing  about  the  bumble-bees  that  I do  not 
understand.  Some  of  them  go  inside  of  flowers  to  get  their  honey, 
while  others  go  only  on  the  outside,  just  at  the  bottom  of  the  cup 
of  the  flower.  It  is  curious  to  see  two  bumble-bees  on  one  stalk 
of  flowers,  one  going  into  all  of  them,  and  the  other  getting  his 
honey  from  the  outside  of  them.  I have  often  seen  this,  but  never 
could  find  the  reason  of  it. 

Another  thing  I have  observed  about  the  bumble-bees.  Each 
one  generally  goes  only  to  flowers  of  one  kind.  If,  for  instance, 
he  begins  with  china-asters,  he  will  go  to  no  other  flowers  to 
gather  his  honey.  He  will  sometimes  take  a look  at  others  as  he 
goes  buzzing  along,  but  he  flies  on  till  he  finds  some  more  china- 
asters.  Soon  off  he  starts  for  his  nest,  and  perhaps,  when  he  comes 
again,  he  goes  to  some  other  kind  of  flowers.  If  he  begin  now 
with  morning-glories,  you  will  see  him  pushing  himself  into  every 
one  that  he  comes  to,  and  he  will  not  stop  at  any  other  flower* 


WHAT  LIVE  ON  FLOWERS. 


45 


Honey  made  from  different  things. 


Butterflies. 


We  commonly  speak  of  the  bees  as  gathering  honey.  This  is 
not  exactly  correct.  They  make  honey  out  of  what  they  get  from 
the  flowers.  And  it  is  well  known  that  the  honey-bees,  as  they  are 
called,  can  manufacture  better  honey  from  what  they  gather  from 
some  flowers  than  they  can  from  what  they  gather  from  others. 
From  the  fragrant  flowers  of  the  garden  and  the  white  clover  of 
the  fields  is  made  the  delicate  white  honey  that  you  often  see  on 
the  tea-table.  But  the  bee  can  not  always  find  such  nice  food ; 
and  then  it  flies  olf  to  the  buckwheat  fields,  or  perhaps  helps  it- 
self to  the  drainings  of  some  mo- 
lasses or  sugar  cask  in  front  of  the 
grocer’s  door.  Honey  made  from 
these  things  does  very  well  for  the 
bees’  winter  store,  but  it  does  not 
suit  our  taste. 

Those  beautiful  insects,  the  but- 
terflies, get  their  living  among  the 
flowers.  As  they  fly  about,  they 
now  and  then  stop  and  rest  upon 
some  flower,  as  you  see  this  one 
doing.  This  is  done  not  merely  for  the  sake  of  resting,  but  to 
take  some  food  from  the  flower. 

Questions. — What  use  have  flowers  besides  being  beautiful  to  look  at  ? What  is 
said  of  the  honey-bee  ? What  of  the  bumble-bee  ? Tell  how  he  manages  with  the 
flowers  of  the  cypress-vine.  What  is  said  about  bumble-bees  going  some  to  the  in- 
side and  some  to  the  outside  of  flowers  ? What  is  said  about  the  making  of  honey? 
Tell  about  the  butterflies. 


46 


MOKE  ABOUT  WIIAT  LIVE  ON  FLOWERS. 


The  humming-bird  and  his  nest. 


CHAPTER  X. 

MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  LIVE  ON  FLOWERS. 

The  humming-bird  also  lives  on  the  flowers.  This  little  creat- 
ure seems  always  to' be  on  the  wing  when  he  is  not  in  his  nest. 
He  is  seldom  seen  sitting  on  a branch  like  other  birds.  As  he 
puts  his  long  bill  into  a flower  he  does  not  stand  on  any  thing. 
He  is  held  up  by  his  fluttering  wings.  His  wings  never  seem  to 
be  still,  but  are  always  quivering.  And  then  how  very  quickly 
he  goes  from  one  flower  to  another.  He  seems  to  dart  as  if  by  a 
sudden  spring,  instead  of  flying  like  other  birds. 

Here  is  a representation  of  a humming-bird,  with  his  nest.  It 

is  the  smallest  nest 
that  is  made  by  a 
bird.  It  is  nicely 
made.  It  is  very  soft 
inside  with  down  and 
other  things.  The 
outside  is  generally 
covered  with  moss 
gathered  from  trees 
or  fences.  Fastened 
to  the  branch  of  a 
tree,  as  you  see,  it 
does  not  appear  like 


MOKE  ABOUT  WHAT  LIVE  ON  FLO  WEES. 


47 


Anecdote  about  a humming-bird.  Variety  of  insects  about  flowers. 

a nest  if  you  look  at  it  sideways.  It  is  so  nearly  of  the  same  color 
with  the  bark  of  the  branch,  that  you  would  not  be  apt  to  observe 
it  unless  you  were  looking  very  sharply. 

A lady  once  found  a humming-bird  that  seemed  almost  dead. 
Its  long  slender  tongue  lay  out  of  its  bill,  and  it  was  very  dry. 
She  pitied  the  poor  bird,  and  moistened  its  tongue  with  a little 
sugar  and  water.  It  drew  its  tongue  in,  and  then  put  it  out 
again.  As  it  seemed  to  like  the  sugar  and  water,  she  gave  it 
more.  Soon  the  little  creature  was  so  revived  that  it  was  on  its 
fluttering  wings  again,  and  flew  off  to  sip  something  better  than 
sugar  and  water  from  the  beautiful  flowers. 

I have  told  you  about  the  bees  aud  butterflies.  There  are 
other  insects  besides  these  that  seem  to  get  their  living  from  flow- 
ers. There  is  a great  variety  of  them  about  flowers,  if  we  look 
for  them.  St.  Pierre,  a Frenchman  in  Paris,  watched  a straw- 
berry-plant that  he  had  in  a flower-pot.  In  three  weeks  he 
counted  thirty-seven  different  kinds  of  insects  that  visited  it. 

If  you  go  out  into  the  garden  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  you  will 
see  what  a variety  of  insects  there  is.  There  are  more  about 
some  flowers  than  about  others.  About  some  of  them  there  are 
so  many  that  it  makes  a very  lively,  busy  scene.  Besides  the 
bees  you  will  see  flies  of  every  color  and  of  every  size.  Some  are 
flying  from  flower  to  flower.  Some  seem  to  be  on  the  wing  all 
the  time.  These  are  all  the  while  singing  as  they  hover  over  the 
flowers,  as  if  they  enjoyed  themselves  very  much  in  looking  at 
such  beautiful  things.  And  others  are  resting  themselves  here 
and  there,  or  are  walking  leisurely  about. 


48 


MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  LIVE  ON  FLOWERS. 


Bugs  on  flowers.  Insects  mostly  gone  from  flowers  at  night.  The  chilled  bumble-bee. 

Besides  the  flies,  there  are  hugs  crawling  about  on  the  flowers. 
These  are  of  various  sizes,  and  some  of  them  are  very  small.  Some 
of  them  have  brilliant  and  rich  colors. 

There  is  a great  deal  of  hum  and  stir  about  a plant  where  there 
are  so  many  insects-.  It  is  just  as  it  is  where  there  are  many 
people  together.  And  as  some  people  make  more  noise  than 
others,  so  it  is  with  insects.  So,  too,  some  insects  are  more  bus- 
tling than  others. 

At  night  the  scene  is  changed.  The  buzzing  of  the  bees  and 
the  singing  of  the  flies  are  done.  The  insects  have  got  through 
with  their  work  and  their  play,  and  have  gone  to  the  places  where 
tfiey  sleep.  If  you  look  just  at  dusk  at  a plant  that  you  have 
seen  all  alive  with  insects  in  the  day,  you  will  find  all  quiet.  The 
insects  are  all  gone,  except,  perhaps,  some  little  ones  that  have 
gone  into  the  flowers  to  sleep  on  the  soft  and  elegant  bed  they 
find  there. 

Sometimes  insects,  like  people,  get  into  trouble  by  staying  out 
late  at  night.  On  a cool  morning  I found  a bumble-bee  clinging 
to  a flower.  He  was  very  torpid,  and  he  could  not  fly  when  I 
poked  him  with  a little  stick.  He  could  only  buzz  and  thrust 
out  his  sting.  After  the  sun  warmed  him  he  flew  off.  I sup- 
pose that  he  stayed  out  so  late  that  he  got  chilled,  and  could  not 
make  his  way  home  to  his  nest. 

Questions. — Tell  about  the  humming-bird,  and  about  his  nest.  Give  the  anec- 
dote told  about  a humming-bird.  Tell  about  the  Frenchman  and  his  strawberry- 
plant.  What  is  said  of  the  variety  of  flies  that  we  see  about  flowers  ? And  of  the 
variety  of  bugs  ? What  is  said  of  the  hum  and  stir  about  some  plants  ? How  is  it 

night  ? Tell  about  the  bumble-bee. 


WHAT  THE  BIBLE  SAYS  ABOUT  FLOWERS. 


49 


Why  man  is  compared  to  a flower. 


. CHAPTER  XI. 

WHAT  THE  BIBLE  SAYS  ABOUT  FLOWERS. 

Flowers  are  often  mentioned  in  the  Bible.  Man  is  said  to  be 
like  a flower,  because  as  he  dies  and  is  buried  in  the  earth,  so 
the  flower  fades  and  withers,  and  falls  to  the  ground.  I might 
give  you  many  texts  where  this  comparison  is  made.  But  I will 
mention  only  one,  which  you  will  find  in  the  first  chapter  of  the 
First  Epistle  of  Peter,  in  the  twenty-fourth  verse.  “For  all  flesh 
is  as  grass,  and  all  the  glory  of  man  as  the  flower  of  grass.  The 
grass  withereth,  and  the  flower  thereof  falleth  away.” 

Man  is  compared  in  the  Bible  to  a flower  for  another  reason. 
Flowers  live  but  a little  while.  This  is  true  even  of  those  that 
live  the  longest.  Some  last  but  a few  hours,  as  I told  you  about 
the  flowers  of  the  morning-glory  and  the  cypress-vine.  So  it  is 
with  mankind.  Some  die  very  young.  These  are  like  the  morn- 
ing-glories. They  are  beautiful  while  they  live,  and  parents  and 
friends  like  to  look  at  them,  just  as  we  like  to  look  at  the  beau- 
tiful flowers.  But  their  life  is  short,  very  short,  like  a flowrer 
that  blooms  only  for  a day,  and  then  withers  and  falls.  When 
such  a child  dies,  how  appropriate  to  put  flowers  into  the  coffin  ! 
The  dead  child  is  beautiful  and  pleasant  to  look  upon,  like  the 
flower  cut  from  its  stalk,  and  both  will  decay  together. 

But  perhaps  you  will  say  that  old  persons  are  not  like  flowers, 
for  they  live  a great  while.  It  may  seem  a long  time  to  you,  but 
i D 


50 


WIIAT  THE  BIBLE  SAYS  ABOUT  FLOWERS. 


Why  death  is  said  to  cut  down  people. 


The  lilies  of  the  field. 


if  you  ask  them,  they  will  tell  you  that  life,  as  they  look  hack 
upon  it,  is  very  short.  They  are  like  the  flowers  that  live  the 
longest.  While  the  infant  that  dies  is  like  the  flower  that  lives 
hut  a few  hours,  those  that  die  old  are  like  the  flowers  that  last 
many  days.  That  is  all  the  difference.  All  flowers  die,  and  so 
do  all  people,  and  other  flowers  and  other  people  take  their  places. 

In  comparing  people  to  flowers,  the  Bihle  speaks  of  them  as 
being  cut  down.  And  you  have  perhaps  seen  in  an  old  primer 
Time  represented  as  an  old  man  having  a scythe,  and  underneath 
it  reads : 

Time  cuts  down  all, 

Both  great  and  small. 

It  is  because  death  is  often  so  sudden  both  to  young  and  old 
that  they  are  said  to  be  cut  down  like  the  grass  or  the  flower. 
You  see  a beautiful  flower  standing  among  the  grass,  fresh  and 
gay,  in  the  bright  sun.  But  the  mower’s  scythe  cuts  it  down,  and 
it  wilts  and  dies.  So  it  is  when  death  comes,  as  it  sometimes 
does,  to  the  strong  and  beautiful.  So  sudden  is  the  change,  that 
it  seems  as  if  they  were  really  cut  down  like  the  flower. 

There  is  one  comparison  about  the  beauty  of  flowers  that  you 
have  often  read  in  the  Bible.  It  is  this : “ Consider  the  lilies  of 
the  field,  how  they  grow ; they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin ; 
and  yet  I say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.”  Now  Solomon  had  very  rich 
clothing,  for  he  was  a very  rich  king.  But  take  the  richest  cloth- 
ing and  look  at  it  carefully,  and  then  look  at  even  common  flowers, 
and  you  will  say  that  they  are  much  more  beautiful  than  the 


WHAT  TIIE  BIBLE  SAYS  ABOUT  FLOWERS. 


51 


Flowers  and  cloth  compared.  Weedy-looking  flowers. 

clothing.  And  the  difference  is  very  great  when  you  use  a micro- 
scope. The  splendid  cloth  looks  coarse  and  rough  when  magni- 
fied. But  it  is  not  so  with  the  flowers.  The  more  they  are  mag- 
nified the  more  beautiful  they  appear. 

Even  flowers  that  we  commonly  think  of  as  weeds,  are  beauti- 
tiful  when  we  come  to  examine  them.  The  ox-eyed  daisy  is  not 
considered  at  all  pretty.  But  pick  it  and  look  at  it  carefully, 
and  you  will  see  much  beauty  in  it.  And  if,  with  a microscope, 
you  look  at  one  of  the  six  hundred  flowers  in  its  yellow  bosom, 
you  will  say  that  in  this  weedy-looking  flower  there  is  a whole 
garden  of  beauties.  Few  people  think  much  about  the  tassels 
that  hang  on  so  many  of  the  trees  and  shrubs  in  the  spring;  but, 
as  I have  told  you  before,  they  are  rich  in  beauty  when  we  ex- 
amine  them. 

Questions . — Why  does  the  Bible  compare  man  to  a flower  ? What  other  reason 
is  there  for  this  comparison  ? What  flowers  are  they  like  that  die  young,  and  what 
are  they  like  that  die  old  ? Why  are  people  when  they  die  said  to  be  cut  down  like 
the  grass  or  the  flower  ? What  does  the  Bible  say  of  the  lilies  of  the  field  ? What 
is  the  difference  between  cloth  and  flowers  when  you  look  at  them  carefully  ? What 
is  the  difference  when  you  look  at  them  through  a microscope  ? What  is  said  of 
the  beauty  of  common  and  weedy-looking  flowers  ? 


52 


FRUITS. 


Seed-holders  of  the  rose. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FKUITS. 

When  a flower  wilts  and  falls,  there  is  something  left  on  the 
end  of  the  flower-stem.  It  is  this  that  holds  the  seeds.  You  can 
see  this  in  the  rose.  When  the  beautiful  leaves  of  the  flower  are 
all  scattered  by  the  wind,  there  is  a roundish  thick  part  left  on 
the  end  of  the  stem.  The  seeds  are  in  this.  It  grows  larger,  and 
becomes  of  a reddish  color.  If  you  break  it  open  you  can  see  the 
seeds  in  it. 

Here  is  represented  this  seed-holder  of  the  rose,  in  the  first 

figure  as  whole,  and  in  the  second  as 
cut  open  to  show  the  seeds.  You  see 
that  the  seeds  crowd  it  full.  There  is 
no  room  for  any  thing  else. 

Now  this  we  do  not  call  fruit ; 
for  there  is  very  little  of  it,  and  it 
does  not  taste  good.  But  look  at 
what  is  left  when  a pear-blossom 
falls.  It  is  shaped  very  much  like 
what  is  left  when  the  leaves  of  the 
rose  are  scattered.  But  it  grows 
more  than  that  does.  When  it  is  fully  grown  it  is  larger  than  it 
need  to  be  to  hold  the  seeds.  The  seeds  are  but  a small  part  of 
it.  It  is  made  to  be  eaten  as  well  as  to  hold  the  seeds.  So  we 
call  it  fruit. 


FRUITS. 


53 


Pears.  Oranges.  Berries.  Grapes. 

Here  is  a small  pear  cut  in  such  a way  as  to  show  the  seeds. 

You  see  that  it  is  very  different  from  the  pear- 
shaped  seed-holder  of  the  rose. 

When  the  blossom  of  the  orange  falls,  you  see 
a little  round  green  ball  standing  on  the  end  of  the 
stem.  This  grows  very  much,  and  when  it  is 
ripe  it  is  large  and  of  a yellow  color.  Just  as  it 
is  with  the  pear,  the  orange  is  larger  than  it  needs 
to  be  to  hold  the  seeds.  We  call  it  fruit,  because 
it  is  made  for  us  to  eat. 

The  little  yellow  flower  of  the  currant,  when  it  falls,  leaves  a 
small,  round  berry.  This  grows,  and  becomes  red 
when  it  ripens.  So  it  is  with  the  gooseberry. 
The  whortleberry,  you  know,  grows  dark  when  it 
ripens.  These  berries  have  the  seeds  inside  of 
them.  The  strawberry  has  its  seeds  on  the  out- 
side, as  you  see  here,  and  they  give  it  a very 
pretty  appearance. 

These  berries  are  all  larger  than  they  need  to 
be  to  hold  the  seeds.  The  Creator  intends  them  for  fruit.  But 
he  never  intended  that  what  holds  the  rose-seeds  should  be  fruit, 
and  so  he  made  it  only  large  enough  to  hold  the  seeds. 

The  flowers  on  the  grape-vine  are  very  small  and  delicate.  They 
are  much  smaller  than  the  fruit  that  forms  after  they  fall.  The 
delicious  grape  is  something  more  than*  a seed-holder.  If  it  were 
meant  only  to  hold  the  seeds,  it  would  not  have  all  that  juicy  pulp 
that  is  so  pleasant  to  the  taste. 


54 


FRUITS. 


Different  sizes  of  fruits.  Seeds  that  are  fruits. 

Fruits  are  of  very  different  sizes.  The  fruits  of  some  vijies  are 
very  large,  as  the  pumpkin  and  the  water-melon.  The  fruits  of 
some  large  trees  are  quite  small.  This  is  the  case  with  the  wal- 
nut and  the  chestnut.  The  acorn  is  a very  small  nut,  hut  every 
child  has  been  taught  that 

“ Tall  oaks  from  little  acorns  grow.” 

Some  of  the  trees  in  warm  climates  bear  very  large  fruit.  Cocoa- 
nuts  are  an  example. 

The  fruits  of  the  earth  that  are  most  largely  used  by  man  are 
in  the  form  of  seeds.  This  is  the  case  with  grain,  corn,  peas, 
beans,  etc.  Most  of  what  we  raise  of  these  is  used  for  food,  and 
we  keep  but  a very  small  part  for  seed  for  the  next  year.  The 
different  kinds  of  grain  and  corn  are  used  in  making  bread ; and 
this,  you  know,  is  a part  of  our  food  that  we  depend  upon  so 
much,  that  it  is  called  the  staff  of  life.  And  this  is  the  reason 
that  in  the  Lord’s  Prayer  bread  is  used  as  meaning  food,  when  we 
say,  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread. 

The  grains  from  which  our  bread  is  made  are  quite  small.  But 
there  are  a great  many  of  them.  And  they  are  freed  from  their 
chaffy  coverings,  and  are  ground  between  millstones,  so  as  to 
be  changed  into  the  fine  flour,  from  which  we  make  bread. 

Questions . — What  is  said  of  the  seed-vessel  of  the  rose  ? How  is  a pear  different 
from  this  ? What  is  said  of  the  orange  ? What  of  currants,  strawberries,  etc.  ? 
What  is  said  of  grapes  ? What  is  said  of  the  different  sizes  of  fruits  ? In  what 
shape  are  the  fruits  that  are  most  used  by  man  ? Why  is  bread  called  the  staff  of 
life  ? IIow  do  we  get  the  flour  from  which  we  make  bread  ? 


MORE  ABOUT  FRUITS. 


55 


Fruits  made  from  the  sap. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MORE  ABOUT  FRUITS. 

You  will  want  to  know  from  what  all  the  fruits  are  made. 
They  are  made  from  the  sap,  just  as  the  flower  is.  After  the 
flower  has  fallen  the  sap  keeps  coming  along  the  pipes  in  the 
stem.  And  what  is  on  the  end  of  the  stem  is  made  from  the  sap 
into  fruit. 

You  remember  that  I told  you  that  a flower  is  never  like  the 
sap  from  which  it  is  made.  The  same  is  true  of  the  fruit.  Bite 
the  stem  of  a cluster  of  grapes,  and  you  will  see  that  the  sap  in  it 
has  none  of  the  sweetness  of  the  grapes ; and  yet  they  are  made 
from  it,  just  as  the  flowers  were  before  them. 

How  different  the  fruit  often  is  from  the  flower  that  was  before 
it,  though  they  are  both  made  from  the  same  sap ! It  may  not, 
perhaps,  seem  strange  to  you  that  the  sweet  orange  and  its  fra- 
grant blossom  can  be  made  of  the  same  sap ; for,  though  they 
have  different  colors,  they  are  both  sweet.  But  how  different  a 
sour  apple  is  from  the  blossom  that  was  before  it ! And  then,  too, 
the  orange  was  sour  till  it  became  ripe.  But  the  sap  constantly 
came  to  it  through  the  stem,  and  the  juice  after  a while  became 
sweet.  And  see  how  different  a thing  the  peel  is  from  the  pulp  of 
the  orange.  It  tastes  quite  sharp,  and  is  sometimes  bitter.  But 
both  peel  and  pulp  are  made  from  the  same  sap.  So,  too,  the 
skin  of  some  grapes  has  a very  different  taste  from  the  pulp. 


56 


MORE  ABOUT  FRUITS. 


Variety  in  the  taste  and  color  of  fruits. 


Beauty  of  some  fruits. 


You  see  that  there  is  a great  variety  in  the  fruits  that  God 
has  given  to  us.  I have  said  something  before  of  their  variety  of 
3ize.  They  differ  also  in  their  taste,  and  color,  and  shape. 

Some  fruits  are  sour,  and  some  are  sweet.  Many  fruits  have  a 
taste  that  is  very  different  from  the  taste  of  any  other  fruit,  and 
yet  you  can  not  describe  it.  The  chestnut  does  not  taste  like  the 
walnut,  but  you  can  not  describe  the  difference  to  any  one  so  that 
he  would  know  it.  He  must  taste  them  himself  to  know  the  differ- 
ence. Grapes  and  whortleberries  are  both  sweet,  but  they  do  not 
taste  alike.  There  is  a great  variety  of  sour  apples,  but  you  al- 
ways readily  see  the  difference  between  them  when  you  eat  them. 

There  is  a great  variety  in  the  colors  of  fruits.  But  it  is  not 
as  great  as  the  variety  of  color  in  flowers.'  The  Creator  made 
flowers  especially  to  please  the  eye.  It  is  for  this  that  lie  has 
given  them  many  different  colors.  He  could  have  made  fruits 
without  having  any  flowers.  But  he,  in  his  kindness,  wished  to 
have  us  gratified  by  looking  at  beautiful  things. 

Flowers  are  for  beauty,  and  fruits  for  use.  But  many  of  the 
fruits  are  beautiful.  Our  heavenly  Father  likes  to  make  beauty 
go  along  with  what  is  useful.  The  orange  has  a rich  color,  and 
looks  beautiful  among  the  green  leaves.  We  admire  the  clusters 
of  grapes,  as  they  hang  by  their  slender  stems  under  the  broad 
leaves  of  the  vine.  The  colors  of  some  of  the  varieties  of  the 
peach  and  the  apple  are  very  rich.  The  strawberry  looks  very 
beautiful,  as  the  yellow  seeds  stand  out  on  its  red  surface. 

There  is  a great  variety  in  the  forms  of  fruits.  Look  at  the 
chestnut  burr,  and  see  how  different  it  is  from  a fair-skinned,  round 


MORE  ABOUT  FRUITS. 


57 


God’s  bounty  in  fruits. 


Why  fruits  have  a pleasant  taste. 


apple.  How  different  is  the  strawberry  that  melts  in  your  mouth 
from  any  of  the  hard  nuts  ! How  different  is  the  cocoa-nut  from 
a melon ! 

God  smiles  upon  us  in  the  flowers.  But  in  the  fruits  we  have 
something  more  than  his  smiles.  In  them  he  blesses  us  with  his 
bounty.  The  flowers  are  a feast  to  our  eyes ; but  the  fruits  are 
food  to  our  bodies. 

But  fruits  are  not  made  merely  to  nourish  us.  They  are  so 
made  that  they  gratify  our  taste  while  they  nourish  us  and  sus- 
tain our  lives.  And  in  this  we  see  the  kindness  of  our  heavenly 
Father,  just  as  we  do  in  the  beauty  that  he  has  given  us  to  look 
upon  in  both  flowers  and  fruits.  He  could  have  made  the  fruits 
in  such  a way  that  they  would  be.  without  any  pleasant  taste. 
And  they  would  have  answered  as  well  to  nourish  us  as  they  now 
do.  But  he  wanted  to  gratify  us  in  this  as  he  does  in  other 
things.  For  this  purpose  he  has  given  to  each  kind  of  fruit  its  own 
taste.  All  fruits  are  pleasant,  but  each  is  different  from  the  rest. 

The  variety  of  pleasant  tastes  in  the  fruits  of  the  earth  is  very 
great,  as  you  will  see  if  you  will  think  of  as  many  of  them  as  you 
can.  What  an  evidence  is  this  of  God’s  abundant  goodness  ! He 
does  not  gratify  us  merely  in  a few  things,  but  in  many  things. 
The  pleasant  things  of  this  world  are  almost  endless  in  their  va- 
riety. How  strange  it  is  that  any  one  can  know  all  this,  and 
live  on  day  after  day  without  any  gratitude  to  his  Maker ! 

Questions. — What  are  fruits  made  from  ? Is  the  fruit  ever  like  the  sap  ? What 
is  said  about  the  orange  ? What  is  said  of  the  taste  of 'fruits  ? What  of  their  col- 
ors ? What  of  their  different  forms  ? What  is  it  said  that  God  does  in  the  flowers, 
and  what  in  the  fruits  ? Why  is  there  such  a variety  of  pleasant  tastes  in  fruits  ? 


58 


WHAT  SEEDS  ARE  FOR. 


Growth  from  seeds  wonderful. 


Beans. 


Corn. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

WHAT  SEEDS  ARE  FOR. 

In  telling  you  about  fruits  I told  you  also  something  about 
seeds.  In  this  chapter  I shall  tell  you  more  about  them.  Plants 
commonly  come  up  from  seeds.  It  is  very  curious  to  see  how 
this  is  done.  But  most  people  do  not  think  much  about  it.  Gar- 
deners and  farmers  put  seeds  into  the  ground.  They  see  the 
plants  come  up  from  them.  They  see  these  plants  grow  and  blos- 
som, and  after  a while  they  gather  fruit  from  them.  And  they 
do  not  seem  to  think  that  there  is  any  thing  wonderful  in  all  this. 
But  when  you  have  read  what  I shall  tell  you  about  it,  I think 
that  you  will  say  that  it  is  very  wonderful. 

You  put  a bean  into  the  ground.  A vine  comes  up  from  it. 
This  runs  up  a pole,  winding  round  and  round  it  as  it  goes  up. 
It  blossoms.  Then  come  the  pods.  In  these  are  beans  just  like 
that  which  you  put  into  the  ground.  All  this  comes  from  that 
single  little  bean.  And  there  is  nothing  there  like  what  you  put 
into  the  ground  but  the  beans.  The  vine,  the  leaves,  the  flowers, 
are  nothing  like  the  bean  from  which  they  grew. 

When  you  put  a kernel  of  corn  in  the  ground  there  comes  up 
a stalk.  From  this  spread  out  broad,  long  leaves.  At  length 
large  ears  of  corn  form.  A great  deal  has  come  from  that  single 
kernel.  And  of  all  this  only  the  kernels  of  corn  on  the  ear  are 
like  what  you  put  into  the  ground. 


WHAT  SEEDS  ARE  FOR. 


59 


Acorns.  How  seeds  begin  to  grow. 

An  acorn  falls  from  an  oak-tree.  This  is  the  seed.  But  no- 
thing will  grow  from  it  unless  it  gets  into  the  ground.  A cow 
perhaps  treads  on  it,  and  so  presses  it  into  the  earth.  A twig 
shoots  up  from  it.  This,  after  many  years,  grows  to  he  a large 
tree.  Here  a very  great  deal  has  come  from  the  seed  in  the  ground. 
And  the  huge  tree  is  not  at  all  like  the  little  acorn  from  which 
it  came. 

You  will  want  to  know  how  it  is  that  so  much  comes  from  a 
small  seed.  I will  now  tell  you  as  much  about  this  as  I can. 

After  a seed  has  been  in  the  ground  a little  while  it  swells, 
because  the  dampness  of  the  earth  gets  into  it.  The  covering  of 
the  seed  breaks,  and  out  comes  a little  root.  This  root  pushes 
down  into  the  ground.  Pretty  soon  there 
comes  out  of  the  seed  also  a little  stalk. 
This  shoots  upward.  Here  is  a represent- 
ation of  a seed  which  has  burst.  And  you 
see  the  root,  with  its  fine  fibres,  going  down 
while  the  stalk  goes  up.  Now  what  makes 
the  root  go  down  and  the  stalk  go  up  we 
do  not  know.  Many  very  wise  men  have 
tried  to  find  this  out.  But  they  can  not 
do  it.  They  have  guessed  a good  deal  about  it ; but  guessing  is 
not  knowing,  though  people  often  think  it  is.  The  Creator 
knows,  and  he  makes  the  root  of  every  seed  go  down  and  the 
stalk  go  up.  There  is  never  any  mistake  about  this.  You 
never  see  a root  pushing  up  through  the  ground  and  a stalk 
growing  down. 


60 


WHAT  SEEDS  ARE  FOR. 


Barley-seed. 


A tree  growing  on  a wall. 


Here  you  see  the  way  in  which  a barley-seed  grows.  Roots 
branch  out  from  one  end  of  the  seed  down  into  the 
ground,  and  a stalk  goes  up  from  the  other  end  of  it. 
It  is  so  also  with  corn.  No  matter  how  the  seed  lies 
in  the  ground,  the  roots  will  go  down,  even  if  they 
come  out  of  the  upper  end  of  the  seed ; and  the  stalk 
will  go  up  to  find  the  air,  though  it  must  first  come 
out  of  the  lower  end. 

Roots  sometimes  seem  to  take  a great  deal  of  pains, 
as  we  may  say,  to  get  down  into  the  ground.  A seed 
of  a tree  was  seen  to  take  root,  in  Galloway  in  Scot- 
land, on  an  old  stone  wall  ten  feet  from  the  ground. 
And  a tree  shot  up  from  it.  There  was  earth  enough 
in  the  crevices  of  the  wall  to  make  the  little  tree  grow 
for  a while.  But  after  a time  it  stopped  growing.  The 
reason  was  that  the  tree  had  become  so  large  that  it 
could  not  get  food  enough  out  of  the  earth  in  the  wall.  The 
little  mouths  in  the  root  sucked  up  all  they  could  find ; but  it 
was  not  enough.  The  tree  needed  more  food  than  when  it  was 
small,  just  as  a man  needs  more  food  than  an  infant.  What  was 
to  be  done  ? There  was  a plenty  of  food  in  the  ground  below,  but 
the  trouble  was  to  get  at  it.  If  somebody  would  take  the  tree 
from  the  wall,  and  set  it  down  into  the  ground,  it  would  do  well 
enough.  But  no  one  did  this.  So  the  tree  managed  the  matter 
itself.  It  sent  its  roots  down  the  wall  the  whole  ten  feet  into  the 
ground.  And  then  it  grew  finely,  and  would  have  done  well  if 
the  wind  had  not  blown  it  over.  It  was  so  stilted  up  on  the  wall 


WHAT  SEEDS  ARE  FOR. 


61 


Coverings  of  seeds. 


How  they  are  opened  to  let  the  seed  grow. 


that  it  could  not  stand  against  a strong  wind  as  a tree  could 
whose  roots  spread  right  from  the  bottom  of  its  trunk  into  the 
ground. 

I have  mentioned  the  covering  of  the  seed.  If  you  look  at  a 
bean  you  will  see  that  it  has  a-  firm  skin.  This  bursts  open  for 
the  root  and  the  stalk  to  come  out.  The  place  where  it  bursts  is 
what  is  called  the  eye.  The  potato,  you  know,  has  many  eyes. 
When  it  is  put  into  the  ground  a root  and  a stalk  will  come  out 
from  each  one  of  them.  You  sometimes  see  potatoes  sprout  from 
the  eye  as  they  lie  in  the  cellar. 

There  is  great  difference  in  the  coverings  of  different  seeds. 
The  covering  of  some  nuts  is  very  hard.  You  see  this  in  the 
peach-stone,  the  walnut,  and  the  cocoa-nut.  How  do  you  think 
these  are  opened  so  that  the  root  and  stalk  may  push  out  ? I will 
tell  you.  The  peach-stone  and  the  walnut,  by  being  soaked  in 
the  ground,  swell  and  crack  open.  And  as  to  the  cocoa-nuts,  it 
is  said  that  the  monkeys  crack  them  open  by  throwing  them  on 
the  ground.  So  it  is  in  various  ways  that  the  prison-house  of 
the  seed,  as  we  may  call  it,  is  opened. 

Questions. — What  come  from  seeds  ? Do  most  people  think  that  there  is  any 
thing  wonderful  in  this  ? Tell  what  comes  from  a single  bean.  What  from  a ker- 
nel of  corn.  What  from  an  acorn.  How  does  the  seed  begin  to  grow  ? What  is 
said  about  the  stalks  shooting  up  and  the  roots  going  down  ? Tell  about  the  barley- 
seed.  What  is  told  about  a tree  ? What  is  the  eye  of  a seed  ? What  is  said  about 
the  difference  in  the  coverings  of  seeds  ? How  are  some  hard  seeds  opened,  so  that 
the  root  and  stalk  may  push  out  ? 


62 


LIFE  IN  THE  SEED. 


Life  asleep  in  seeds.  The  city  buried  up  with  lava. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LIFE  IN  THE  SEED. 

A dry  seed  looks  as  if  it  were  dead.  But  there  is  life  there, 
shut  up  in  that  prison-house.  It  is  very  quiet  as  long  as  it  is 
shut  up.  But  once  let  it  out,  and  it  does  great  things.  An  ap- 
ple-seed, with  its  stout  brown  covering,  is  a very  little  thing.  It 
does  not  look  as  if  any  thing  could  ever  come  from  it.  But  if  it 
gets  into  the  ground,  the  moisture  swells  it,  the  covering  bursts, 
and  an  apple-tree  comes  from  the  seed.  And  you  know  the  Bible 
tells  us,  a tree  large  enough  for  the  fowls  of  the  air  to  lodge  in  its 
branches  comes  from  the  little  mustard-seed. 

The  life  in  the  dry  seed  is  asleep.  Put  it  into  the  moist  ground, 
and  this  life  wakes  up.  This  sleep  of  seeds  sometimes  lasts  a 
great  while.  Commonly  we  keep  them  only  from  one  year  to 
another.  But  sometimes  they  are  kept  a long  time  in  their  state 
of  sleep.  I will  tell  you  a story  about  this  : Many  hundred  years 
.ago  there  came  a great  stream  of  lava,  as  it  is  called,  down  from  a 
mountain.  It  was  all  on  fire,  and  looked  like  a stream  of  melted 
iron.  It  rolled  over  a city  and  covered  it  up.  All  the  inhabit- 
ants were  killed.  When  the  lava  cooled,  people  came  to  look  for 
the  city,  but  could  not  find  any  of  it.  But  lately,  people  have 
dug  down  through  the  lava,  and  opened  passages  into  this  covered- 
up  city.  They  have  gone  into  the  houses,  and  have  found  many 
things  just  as  they  were  when  the  red-hot  lava  ran  over  the  city. 


LIFE  IN  THE  SEED. 


63 


Many  seeds  from  one.  Many  destroyed. 

Some  seeds  were  found.  These  were  planted ; and  they  sprung 
up  just  as  seeds  do  that  have  Ibeen  kept  only  from  one  year  to 
another.  The  life  in  these  seeds,  then,  had  been  asleep  for  many 
hundred  years. 

A great  many  seeds  come  from  one  seed  put  into  the  ground. 
From  a single  kernel  of  corn  come  several  ears  full  of  kernels. 
The  kernels  or  seeds  from  one  single  ear  are  enough  to  plant  quite 
a large  piece  of  ground.  We  use  most  of  the  corn  for  food,  for  we 
need  to  keep  but  little  of  it  for  seed.  So  we  eat  most  of  the  beans 
that  we  raise.  We  keep  only  a little  bag  of  them  for  planting 
the  next  year.  As  you  look  at  the  little  bag,  you  would  hardly 
think  that  it  holds  what  will  cover  long  rows  of  poles  with  vines. 
There  is  a great  deal  of  life  asleep  for  the  winter  in  that  bag. 

Most  of  the  seeds  that  drop  from  trees  and  plants  are  killed, 
and  they  decay  on  the  ground  with  the  leaves.  It  is  only  now 
and  then  that  a seed  lives  and  takes  root.  If  all  seeds  lived  and 
sprung  up  we  should  have  too  many  things  growing  every  where. 
If  all  the  acorns  lived,  and  got  into  the  ground,  and  took  root, 
there  would  be  too  many  oaks.  And  so  of  other  trees  and  plants. 
The  seeds  that  are  scattered  on  the  ground  have  to  take  their 
chance,  as  we  say.  Some  out  of  the  whole  live  through  the 
winter  in  some  way,  and  come  up  in  the  spring. 

Questions. — What  is  said  of  life  in  the  seed  ? What  wakes  it  up  ? Can  the 
sleep  of  seeds  sometimes  last  a great  while  ? Tell  about  the  seeds  from  a city  that 
was  covered  up  with  lava.  What  is  said  of  the  number  of  seeds  that  come  from 
one  seed  ? What  becomes  of  the  seeds  of  plants  and  trees  that  fall  to  the  ground  ? 


64 


HOW  SEEDS  ARE  SCATTERED. 


Seeds  scattered  by  man,  by  water,  by  wind,  etc. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

HOW  SEEDS  ARE  SCATTERED. 

Seeds  are  scattered  in  various  ways.  They  do  not  all  stay 
near  the  place  where  they  drop. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  seeds  that  man  scatters  in  raising 
his  crops  from  year  to  year. 

Some  seeds  are  carried  away  by  water.  Sometimes  they  sail 
a very  great  distance  in  this  way,  and,  like  people,  settle  down  far 
away  from  the  spot  where  they  grew. 

Seeds  are  sometimes  carried  about  in  the  hair  of  animals,  and 
are  dropped  here  and  there.  The  sheep  gets  seeds  into  its  wool, 
and  then  shakes  them  out  as  it  goes  about  the  pasture,  or  rubs 
them  off  against  the  trees  and  the  fences.  The  little  burrs  with 
which  you  make  baskets,  by  sticking  them  together,  are  seed- 
holders.  They  often  stick  to  your  clothes.  When  you  pick  them 
off  and  throw  them  away,  you  help  to  scatter  seeds  just  as  the 
sheep  does. 

The  wind  is  the  great  scatterer  of  seeds.  It  blows  them  about 
if  they  are  at  all  light.  It  sometimes  takes  them  far  away  from 
where  they  grew.  Some  seeds  are  made  in  such  a way  that  the 
wind  can  blow  them  about  very  easily.  Look  at  the  seed  of  tlie 
maple-tree.  There  is  a sort  of  wing  on  it,  as  if  it  were  made  to 
fly.  So  when  it  falls,  it  goes  whirling  away  in  the  air.  It  does 
not  drop  just  by  the  tree  if  the  air  is  stirring. 


HOW  SEEDS  ARE  SCATTERED. 


(>5 


Seeds  of  the  maple,  the  dandelion,  and  the  salsify. 


Here  is  a representation  of  two  seeds  of  the  maple,  with  their 
wings.  They  always  grow  in  this  way,  in  pairs. 

Look  at  the  little  feathery  ball  on  the  stalk 
of  the  dandelion  after  the  flower  is  gone.  The 
seeds  are  in  the  middle  of  that  ball.  Pick  it, 
and  then  hold  it  up,  and  blow  upon  it  as  hard 
as  you  can.  Away  will  fly  all  the  seeds.  If 
the  wind  is  blowing  it  will  scatter  them  every 
where.  Now  look  at  them  to  see  what  makes  them  fly  so.  You 
see  that  each  seed  has  a very  little  stem.  This  stem  has  on  its 
end  some  very  fine  fibres  standing  out  all  around.  The  wind 
blows  the  seed  about  by  these  fibres.  If  the  seed  did 
not  have  this  sort  of  balloon  to  fly  with,  it  would  fall 
straight  to  the  ground.  But  with  this  it  may  go  a 
great  distance.  Sometimes  it  travels  over  mountains 
and  across  rivers.  Here  is  a drawing  of  the  dandelion- 
seed.  But  to  see  how  delicate  it  is,  and  how  well  fitted 
it  is  to  fly,  you  must  look  at  a real  seed. 

TAnd  here  is  the  stem  of  the  dande- 
^ lion  as  it  looks  after  the  seeds  are  scat- 
tered. You  see  that  it  has  a cushion- 
shaped  end.  It  is  on  this  that  the 
seeds  are  fastened.  It  is  curious  to  see 
how  regularly  they  are  arranged  so  as 
to  make  that  beautiful  feathery  ball. 

The  seed  of  the  salsify  represented 
here,  is  very  much  like  that  of  the  dan- 
i E 


66 


HOW  SEEDS  ARE  SCATTERED. 


Seeds  of  the  clematis. 


Thistle-down. 


Mossel  and  ferns 


delion.  But  the  fibres  by  which  it  is  carried  about  by  the  wind 
are,  you  see,  very  delicately  feathered. 

The  seed  of  the  clematis  or  virgin’s-bower  is,  as  you 
see,  rather  differently  arranged.  It  has  a very  long 
stem,  with  little  fibres  standing  out  from  it  all  the  way, 
something  like  a feather. 

The  down  of  thistles  and  some  other  flowers  is  the 
wing  of  the  seeds  by  which  they  are  scat- 
tered  by  the  wind.  Here  is  a representation  i||i 
of  a seed  with  its  wing  of  down.  This  lit- 
tie  seed  has  a very  large  wing  to  fly  with. 

The  seeds  of  mosses  and  ferns  are  scattered  more  widely  than 
any  others  because  they  are  so  small.  You  know  the  mosses 
well.  You  see  them  every  where  on  fences,  rocks,  and  trunks 
of  trees,  as  well  as  on  the  ground.  The  wind  carries  their  fine 
seeds  about,  and  they  lodge  on  every  thing.  They  go  even  to 
the  tops  of  the  mountains,  and  down  into  caverns  in  the  earth. 
There  is  great  variety  in  the  mosses,  and  some  of  them  are  ex- 
ceedingly beautiful,  especially  when  examined  with  a microscope. 

Questions—  In  what  different  ways  are  seeds  scattered  about  ? What  is  the  great 
scatterer  of  seeds  ? What  is  said  of  the  seeds  of  the  maple  ? What  of  the  seeds  of 
the  dandelion  ? What  of  the  seeds  of  the  salsify— the  clematis— the  thistle  ? What 
of  the  seeds  of  mosses  and  ferns  ? 


LEAVES. 


67 


Beauty  of  leaves. 


Variety  of  their  shapes. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

LEAVES. 

Most  trees  and  bushes  are  stripped  of  all  their  leaves  in  the 
autumn,  and  remain  bare  till  the  winter  is  passed.  We  should 
feel  sad  if  they  were  without  leaves  all  the  year  round.  One  use 
of  the  leaves  is  to  gratify  us  by  their  beauty.  When  the  winter 
is  gone  how  delightful  it  is  to  us  to  look  out  upon  the  trees  and 
the  plants  as  they  put  forth  their  leaves  ! Their  fresh  green  color 
is  a feast  to  our  eyes. 

You  remember  what  I said  about  the  flowers  having  so  many 
different  shapes.  The  Creator  has  made  the  same  variety  in  the 
shapes  of  leaves.  He  likes  to  make  beautiful  things  in  great 
variety  for  us  to  look  at.  Here  I give  you  some  fig- 
ures of  leaves,  to  show  you  how  different  their  shapes 
are. 

Here  is  a leaf  which  is 
row.  There  is  a plant 
called  arrow-head,  be- 
cause its  leaf  has  this  shape. 

Here  is  one  shaped  very  much 
like  a lance,  another  is  a good 
representation  of  a mason’s  trow- 
el, and  a third  is  very  much  like 
a fiddle- 


shaped like  the  head  of  an  ar< 


68 


LEAVES. 


Various  shapes  of  leaves. 

This  is  like  a shield.  The  nasturtium  the  leaves 
of  this  kind.  The  stem  is  fastened  to  the 
leaf  just  where  the  hand  holds  on  to  a 
shield. 

This  leaf  has  a tendril  on  the  end  of  it. 

This  clasps  around  whatever  it  happens  to  touch.  Some 
plants  are  held  up  in  this  way  by  their  leaves. 

This  leaf  is  notched  all  around  its  edge,  like  a saw. 
The  leaves  of  a great  many  plants  are  notched  in  this 
way,  as  those  of  the  rose,  the  peach,  and 
the  nettle. 

Here  is  one  that  is  notched  differently. 

The  teeth  are  rounded,  and  not  sharp.  It  may  be  said 
to  be  scalloped  rather  than  toothed.  The  ground  ivy 
has  a leaf  of  this  kind. 

Below  are  two  leaves,  one  of  which  is  spread  out  like  a hand, 
and  the  other  is  very  much  like  the  claws  of  the  feet  of  some 
birds.  The  passion-flower  is  of  the  shape  of  the  hand.  So,  also, 
is  that  of  the  castor-oil  plant. 


LEAVES. 


69 


Variety  in  the  arrangement  of  leaves. 


I have  thus  given  only  a few  of  the  shapes  of  leaves.  Their 
variety  is  very  great.  They  vary  not  only  in  shape,  but  in  color. 
They  vary  also  in  other  things.  Some  have  down  on  them,  and 
some  hairs,  and  some  have  neither.  It  will  be  well  for  you  to 
see  how  many  different  kinds  of  leaves  you  can  bring  to  the 
teacher,  and  she  will  tell  you  about  them. 

Leaves  are  arranged  in  a great  many  different 
ways  on  their  stems.  Here  are 
three  leaves  together  on  a stem. 

The  leaves  of  the  clover  and  the 
wood-sorrel  are  arranged  in  this 
way. 

Here  the  leaf-stem  has  three  little  branches, 
and  each  branch  has  three  leaves. 

On  this  leaf-stem  are  a great  many  leaves.  I have  thus  shown 
you  three  ways  in  which  leaves  are  ar- 
ranged. But  there  are  many  other  ways 
in  which  they  are  arranged,  making  a 
great  variety  in  the  appearance  of  leaves. 
The  only  way  to  know  how  very  great 
this  variety  of  arrangement  is,  is  to  look 
for  yourselves  at  plants,  and  trees,  and 
shrubs,  as  you  walk  in  the  garden  or  in 
the  fields. 

Leaves  are  of  all  sizes.  Some  are  very  small,  and  some  are 
very  large.  Look  at  the  little  delicate  leaves  of  the  chick-weed 
and  the  cypress-vine,  and  then  at  the  large  spreading  leaves  of  the 


70 


LEAVES. 


Forms  of  leaves  not  commonly  observed. 

rhubarb-plant  and  the  pumpkin-vine,  and  the  very  long  ones  of 
the  corn.  The  common  palm-leaf  fans  so  much  in  use  are  made 
from  the  large  leaves  of  the  palm-tree. 

I think  that  you  will  be  quite  interested  in  observing  the  vari- 
ous forms  of  leaves,  though  most  people  do  not  observe  them  much. 
A friend  once  told  me  that  a number  of  leaves  from  our  common 
trees  were  brought  to  some  ladies,  and  that  not  one  of  them  could 
tell  from  what  kind  of  tree  each  leaf  came.  It  seems  to  me  that 
they  could  have  used  their  eyes  to  little  purpose,  as  they  walked 
about  among  the  trees  of  the  field  and  the  garden.  They  proba- 
bly looked  at  leaves  merely  as  making  a pleasant  green  to  the 
eye,  and  never  examined  them,  as  they  perhaps  would  flowers,  to 
see  what  a difference  there  is  between  them.  You  had  better 
gather  some  leaves  of  various  kinds,  and  see  if  your  schoolmates 
can  tell  from  what  trees  they  came.  Take  the  star-shaped  leaf 
of  the  maple,  the  birch-leaf  with  its  nicely  notched  edges,  the 
bright,  firm  leaf  of  the  oak  with  its  wavy  edge,  and  the  wrinkled 
leaf  of  the  elm.  Show  them  a willow-leaf  beside  a peach-leaf, 
which  is  very  much  like  it.  An  apple-leaf  and  a pear-leaf  togeth- 
er might  puzzle  them,  though  I think  that  some  wide-awake  child 
would  see  the  difference  between  them. 

Questions. — What  is  said  of  one  of  the  uses  of  leaves  ? What  of  the  variety  in 
their  shapes  ? Mention  some  of  these  shapes.  In  what  other  things  do  leaves  vary 
besides  shape  ? What  is  said  of  the  arrangement  of  leaves  on  their  stems  ? What 
is  said  of  their  different  sizes  ? What  is  said  about  observing  the  shapes  of  leaves  ? 


MORE  ABOUT  LEAVES. 


71 


Beauty  of  common  leaves. 


Ribs  in  leaves. 


> 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MORE  ABOUT  LEAVES. 

Leaves  are  such  common  things  that  we  do  not  think  how 
beautiful  they  are.  But  take  any  common  leaf  into  your  hand 
and  look  at  it.  Take  the  leaf  of  the  strawberry.  See  how  prettily 
it  is  notched.  Hold  it  up  to  the  light  and  see  the  lines  that  run 
from  the  middle  line  to  the  edge.  Then  see  the  fine  net- work  be- 
tween these  lines.  How  delicate  and  beautiful ! The  leaf  of  the 
raspberry  is  even  more  beautiful  than  the  strawberry  leaf,  if  you 
pick  it  from  a new  shoot.  See  the  fine  points  on  its  edge,  and 
see  how  delicate  are  its  lines  and  net-work  as  you  hold  it  up  to 
the  light. 

Observe  the  back  of  a leaf,  and  you  will  see  ribs  that  spread 
out  from  the  main  rib  in  the  middle  to  the  edges.  These  are  the 
frame  of  the  leaf,  just  as  timbers  are  the  frame  of  a house.  They 
are  to  the  leaf  what  whalebones  are  to  an  umbrella.  They  give 
strength  to  it.  Without  them  it  would  droop  like  a wilted  leaf. 
It  would  not  stand  out  straight  and  firm.  The  wind  would  blow 
it  every  way,  like  a rag  tied  to  a stick. 

You  see  these  ribs  very  large  in  broad  spreading  leaves.  They 
are  large  in  grape-leaves,  and  in  the  leaves  of  the  rhubarb-plant, 
or  pie-plant,  as  it  is  often  called. 

In  leaves  that  are  very  stiff  and  firm  these  ribs  are  so  small, 
that  at  first  you  would  say  there  were  none.  This  is  the  case 


72 


MORE  ABOUT  LEAVES. 


The  upper  and  under  side  of  leaves.  Leaves  seen  through  the  microscope. 

with  the  leaf  of  the  pear  and  the  orange.  There  is  one  strong  rib 
running  through  in  th^  middle  of  the  leaf.  But  there  are  no 
strong  ribs  branching  out  from  this.  The  leaf  is  so  firm  that  it 
does  not  need  them. 

See  the  difference  there  is  between  the  upper  and  the  under 
side  of  a leaf.  The  upper  is  greener  than  the  under  side.  In 
the  grape-leaf  the  under  side  is  covered  with  a very  fine  white 
fuzz.  If  you  tear  the  leaf  gently,  you  can  see  the  delicate  white 
fibres  of  this  furze  across  the  rent.  In  the  silver-leaf  poplar  there 
is  a silvery  whiteness  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaf.  This  makes 
the  tree  look  very  pretty  as  its  branches  are  moved  back  and 
forth  by  the  wind. 

I have  thus  told  you  a few  things  about  leaves.  By  looking 
at  them  yourselves  you  will  see  a great  many  things  in  them  that 
will  interest  you.  Look  at  them  as  you  walk  in  the  garden  or 
roam  in  the  field,  and  you  will  see  that  there  is  no  end  to  the  va- 
riety. And  among  them  all  you  can  not  find  one  that  is  not  beau- 
tiful when  you  examine  it. 

Leaves  are  very  beautiful  if  you  look  at  them  through  a micro- 
scope. Take  the  most  common  leaf  and  look  at  it  in  this  way, 
and  you  will  be  delighted.  You  will  be  surprised  to  find  how 
much  beauty  there  is  in  leaves  that  you  knew  nothing  about  be- 
fore. 

And  now  I will  tell  you  about  some  leaves  of  a very  singular 
character. 

There  are  some  leaves  that  are  of  very  singular  shape.  I will 
mention  only  a few. 


MORE  ABOUT  LEAVES. 


73 


Leaf  of  the  side-saddle  flower. 


Chinese  pitcher-plant. 


Here  is  the  leaf  of  the  side-saddle  flower,  as  it  is  called.  It  is 

shaped  somewhat  like  a butter- 
boat. You  see  that  it  is  open. 
It  can  hold  considerable  water. 
It  lias  ,a  kind  of  lip,  which  looks 
as  if  it  were  made  in  order  that 
water  might  be  poured  out  of  it 
easily.  This  plant  grows  in  some  parts  of  this  country.  The 
flower  is  purple,  and  has  a curious  shape.  It  is  on  a stalk  that 
stands  up  in  the  midst  of  about  half-a-dozen  of  these  leaves. 

One  of  the  most  singular  leaves  is  that  of  the  Chinese  pitcher- 
plant.  At  the  end  of  the  leaf  the  main  rib  extends 
out  like  a tendril,  and  this  ends  in  the  appendage 
which  is  represented  here.  It  is  in  the  shape  of  a 
pitcher,  and  has,  as  you  see,  a regular  lid.  This  is 
generally  shut  down,  though,  as  you  see  it  here,  it  is 
raised  up.  The  rain  can  not,  therefore,  get  in,  and  yet 
the  pitcher  is  always  full  of  water.  It  holds  about  a 
tumblerful.  Now  how  do  you  think  this  water  comes 
there  ? It  is  a part  of  the  sap  that  comes  to  the  leaf.  The  watery 
part  of  the  sap  is  poured  from  thousands  and  thousands  of  little 
mouths  on  the  inside  of  the  pitcher ; and  so  it  is  kept  filled  with 
water.  This  plant  is  quite  common  in  the  island  of  Ceylon. 
There  it  is  called  monkey-cup,  because  the  monkeys  sometimes 
open  the  lid  and  drink  the  water.  And  men  sometimes  drink 
from  these  leaves  when  there  is  no  spring  of  water  where  they 
can  quench  their  thirst. 


74 


MORE  ABOUT  LEAVES. 


Venus’s  fly-trap. 


Leaves  of  the  fern. 


The  leaf  of  the  Venus’s  fly-trap,  which  grows  in  North  Caro- 
lina, is  a real  trap  for  flies  and  other 
insects.  Here  you  see  the  leaf  as  it 
is  spread  out,  wide  open.  It  looks 
as  if  there  was  no  danger  there.  But 
let  an  insect  alight  on  the  leaf,  and 
lie  is  made  a prisoner  at  once.  The 
two  parts  of  the  leaf  close  to- 
gether, as  you  see,  and  the  mSutk 

points  on  the  edges  are  locked 
together, 
so  as  to 
furnish 

bars  to  the  prison.  You  see  a little  insect 
caught  in  this  leaf  that  had  lighted  only  on 
its  very  edge.  He  can  not  get  away,  and 
there,  poor  fellow ! he  must  die  a slow  death. 
Of  what  use  it  is  to  have  such  traps  for  in- 
sects wTe  do  not  understand. 

This  is  the  leaf  of  the  common  fern  or 
brake.  It  is  beautiful  if  you  examine  it,  for 
it  is  very  delicate.  And  it  has  one  great  pe- 
culiarity. The  flowers  of  the  plant  are  on 
the  under  side  of  the  leaf.  They  are  where 
you  see  the  little  round  spots.  If  you  look 
at  the  leaf  with  a microscope  you  can  see  the 
different  parts  of  the  flowers. 


MORE  ABOUT  LEAVES. 


75 


Thick  leaves. 


Live-forever. 


Ribbon-grass. 


Most  leaves  are  thin,  but  some  are  quite  thick.  This  is  the 
case  with  the  leaves  of  the  India-rubber  tree.  The  wax-plant 
has  thick  leaves,  which,  with  the  flowers,  look  so  waxy  as  to  give 
the  name  to  the  plant.  The  flowers  of  the  cactuses  grow  right 
out  from  the  thick  fleshy  leaves,  making  these  plants  look  very 
awkward,  although  the  flowers  are  so  beautiful.  And  it  is  a sin- 
gular fact,  that  if  one  of  the  leaves  is  broken  off  and  put  into  the 
ground  it  will  take  root  and  grow. 

Did  you  ever  make  a blow-bag,  as  it  is  called,  of  the  leaf  of  the 
live-forever,  as  children  very  often  do  ? If  you  have  not,  I will 
tell  you  how  it  is  done.  The  leaf  is  rather  thick,  and  is  made  of 
two  layers.  These  you  can  separate  at  the  stem-end  of  the  leaf, 
and  then  by  pinching  the  leaf  and  blowing  into  it  you  can  make 
it  puff  out  like  a bag.  You  must  do  this  very  carefully,  or  you 
will  break  the  layer  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaf,  which  is  very 
thin,  while  the  upper  layer  is  thick. 

The  leaf  of  the  ribbon-grass,  as  it  is  called,  is  very  singular  in 
one  respect.  It  is  very  prettily  striped,  but  you  can  not  find  any 
two  leaves  that  are  striped  exactly  alike,  any  more  than  you  can 
find  two  faces  exactly  alike  among  all  the  people  on  the  earth. 

Questions. — What  is  said  of  the  beauty  of  common  leaves  ? Tell  about  the  ribs 
of  leaves.  What  leaves  have  large  ribs  ? How  is  it  with  the  leaf  of  the  pear  and 
the  orange  ? What  is  the  difference  between  the  upper  and  the  under  side  of  leaves  ? 
Tell  about  the  grape-leaf.  And  about  the  leaf  of  the  silver-poplar.  What  is  said 
of  the  beauty  of  leaves  as  seen  through  the  microscope  ? Tell  about  the  leaf  of  the 
side-saddle  flower.  And  about  the  Chinese  pitcher-plant.  Also  about  the  Venus’s 
fly-trap.  What  is  said  of  the  leaf  of  the  common  fern  ? What  of  thick  leaves  ? 
What  of  the  leaf  of  live-forever  ? What  of  ribbon-grass  ? 


76 


THE  SAP  IN  LEAVES. 


Wilting  of  leaves  explained. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  SAP  IN  LEAVES. 

I have  told  you  about  the  ribs  of  leaves.  Let  us  see  what 
makes  them  so  firm  and  strong.  Look  at  a large  grape-leaf  on 
the  vine.  It  spreads  out  very  firmly.  If  the  wind  blows  it  very 
hard  it  bends,  but  it  stands  out  again  as  firmly  as  ever.  But 
break  the  leaf  off,  and  see  what  happens.  In  a little  time  it  wilts. 
If  you  hold  it  up  by  the  stem  its  edges  droop  down  all  around. 
The  leaf  does  not  stand  out  as  it  did  when  it  was  on  the  vine. 
The  ribs  are  all  there,  but  they  have  lost  their  strength.  How 
do  you  think  they  lost  it  ? I will  tell  you. 

When  you  broke  off  the  stem,  the  sap  could  no  longer  get  to 
the  leaf.  It  is  just  as  no  water  can  get  into  a house  when  the 
water-pipe  is  cut  off  outside.  The  sap  goes  to  all  parts  of  the 
leaf  from  the  stem  through  the  ribs.  The  ribs,  like  the  stem, 
have  little  fine  pipes  in  them  for  the  sap  to  run  in.  Now,  if  the 
ribs  are  not  full  of  the  sap  they  are  not  firm,  and  they  bend  easi- 
ly. When  these  ribs  and  the  net-work  between  them  are  not 
full  of  sap  the  leaf  is  wilted,  as  we  say. 

But  when  the  leaf  is  picked  it  is  full  of  sap.  How  does  any 
of  the  sap  then  get  out  of  it  so  as  to  make  it  wilt?  It  does  not 
leak  out  of  the  stem.  If  it  did,  you  could  see  it  drop  as  you  hold 
the  leaf  up.  Where,  then,  does  it  get  out?  This  I will  explain 
to  you.  There  are  little  holes,  or  pores,  as  they  are  called,  all 


THE  SAP  IN  LEAVES. 


77 


The  quantity  of  moisture  that  comes  from  leaves. 

over  tlie  leaf.  They  are  so  small  that  you  can  not  see  them  with' 
out  a strong  microscope.  The  watery  part  of  the  sap  escapes  into 
the  air  through  these  pores. 

There  is  a great  deal  of  moisture  that  comes  from  leaves.  You 
can  see  that  this  is  so  if  you  put  a cluster  of  leaves  under  a glass 
vessel.  A large  tumbler  will  answer.  You  will,  after  a little 
time,  see  the  moisture  in  drops  on  the  inside  of  the  glass.  This 
moisture  is  the  water  that  comes  from  the  pores  of  the  leaves. 

You  remember  what  I told  you  in  the  last  chapter  about  the 
leaf  of  the  pitcher-plant.  The  water  in  that  leaf  comes  from  its 
pores  on  the  inside.  If,  instead  of  its  having  a pitcher-shape,  the 
leaf  was  laid  open  and  spread  out  like  common  leaves,  the  moist- 
ure would  all  go  off  in  the  air.  But  as  it  is  a pitcher  with  a 
lid,  the  moisture  that  comes  from  all  the  pores  is  shut  in.  It 
can  not  fly  off*  in  the  air.  And  after  a while  enough  moisture  col- 
lects to  fill  the  pitcher.  This  shows  how  much  water  common- 
ly goes  from  leaves  into  the  air.  If  any  leaf  that  you  see 
spread  out  could  be  changed  into  a pitcher  or  cup  shape  with  a 
lid,  it  would  in  a little  time  be  full  of  the  water  that  comes  from 
its  pores. 

Now  you  can  understand  why  a leaf  wilts  after  it  is  picked. 
It  does  not  wilt  as  soon  as  you  pick  it,  for  the  sap  is  all  in  it 
then.  But  let  it  be  a little  while.  The  watery  part  of  the  sap  is 
going  out  of  the  pores  of  the  leaf  all  the  time,  and  there  is  no  sap 
coming  to  it  through  the  stem.  So  the  leaf  wilts. 

You  can  keep  a leaf  from  wilting  for  a long  time  by  placing 
the  stem  in  water.  When  you  do  this  the  water  goes  up  through 


78 


THE  SAP  IN  LEAVES. 


Keeping  flowers  from  wilting. 


Much  water  in  the  air,  but  not  seen. 


the  little  pipes  in  the  stem.  This  takes  the  place  of  the  water 
that  goes  out  of  the  pores  of  the  leaf. 

When  you  put  flowers  in  water,  you  know  that  the  water  is 
less  the  next  day.  This  is  because  so  much  of  the  water  goes  up 
in  the  stems  to  the  leaves  and  blossoms. 

You  know  that  if  you  have  a plant  in  a flower-pot,  the  earth 
gets  dry  in  a day  or  two.  This  is  chiefly  because  the  water  in 
the  earth  is  sucked  up  by  the  roots,  and  runs  up  all  through  the 
plant,  and  goes  out  of  the  pores  of  the  leaves  and  blossoms.  Some 
of  the  water  goes  up  directly  from  the  earth  into  the  air,  but  most 
of  it  goes  through  the  plant. 

You  can  not  see  the  water  that  comes  out  of  the  leaves  and 
blossoms  into  the  air.  There  is  a great  deal  of  water  in  the  air 
that  you  can  not  see.  You  have  often  seen  in  a hot  day  the  w^a- 
ter  stand  in  drops  on  the  outside  of  your  tumbler.  Just  think 
how  these  drops  come  there.  People  sometimes  say  that  the  tum- 
bler sweats,  just  as  if  the  water  came  through  the  glass.  But 
this,  you  know,  can  not  be.  Water  can  not  get  through  glass. 
The  drops  come  there  in  this  way.  The  cold  water  in  the  tumbler 
makes  the  glass  very  cold.  And  the  water  in  the  warm  air  around 
the  tumbler,  therefore,  gathers  upon  it.  Sometimes  there  is  much 
more  water  in  the  air  than  there  is  at  other  times.  Then  the  tum- 
bler is  very  wet.  Now  a great  deal  of  the  water  in  the  air  comes 
from  the  leaves  of  the  trees  and  the  plants  all  about  us.  The 
leaves  may  be  said  to  be  breathing  moisture  into  the  air  all  the 
time.  I shall  tell  you  more  about  the  water  that  is  in  the  air  in 
Part  Third. 


THE  SAP  IN  LEAVES. 


79 


Lesson  that  can  be  learned  from  the  leaves. 


This  moisture  that  is  breathed  out  from  the  leaves  makes  the 
air  soft,  while  the  fragrance  of  the  flowers  makes  it  balmy.  Each 
leaf  yields  but  a little  water,  and  so  does  but  little  good  in  this 
way.  But  there  are  so  many  leaves  that  a great  deal  of  water 
comes  from  all  of  them.  It  puts  me  in  mind  of  the  Scotch  prov- 
erb, “Many  a little  makes  a mickle.” 

Those  who  want  to  do  good  in  the  world  may  learn  *a  lesson 
from  the  leaves.  A large  amount  of  good  may  be  done  when  a 
great  many  do  each  a little.  Let  those  who  can  do  but  little 
think  of  this.  Let  them  do  every  day  what  they  can,  just  as 
each  leaf  does.  Great  men,  that  excite  the  wonder  of  the  world, 
can  do  a great  deal  of  good ; but  they  can  not  do  any  thing  like 
as  much  as  is  done  by  a great  many  people  together  that  do  each 
a little  in  a noiseless  way.  Every  child,  in  doing  little  kind 
things,  may,  like  the  small  leaf,  do  his  part  of  the  good  that  is  to 
be  done  in  the  world.  And  if  much  of  the  good  that  he  does  is 
not  noticed  by  others,  God  sees  it  all,  just  as  he  sees  all  the  moist- 
ure that  is  breathed  out  by  each  little  leaf. 

Questions. — What  makes  the  ribs  of  leaves  firm  ? What  happens  to  these  ribs 
when  a leaf  wilts?  How  does  the  watery  part  of  the  sap  get  out  of  a picked  leaf? 
What  is  said  of  the  quantity  of  water  that  comes  from  leaves  ? Tell  about  the  water 
in  the  leaf  of  the  pitcher-plant.  How  does  a picked  leaf  wilt  ? How  does  putting 
a leaf  in  water  keep  it  from  wilting  ? What  makes  the  earth  in  a flower-pot  be- 
come dry  ? Can  you  see  the  wrater  that  goes  into  the  air  from  the  leaves  and  other 
things  ? Tell  about  water  settling  on  tumblers  in  hot  weather.  What  lesson  can 
we  learn  from  the  leaves  ? 


80 


THE  USES  OF  LEAVES. 


Refreshing  moisture  from  leaves. 


Their  shade. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  USES  OF  LEAVES. 

One  use  of  leaves,  as  I told  you  in  the  last  chapter,  is  to  sup- 
ply the  air  with  water.  In  the  hot  weather  the  air  would  be  very 
dry  and  uncomfortable  to  us  if  the  leaves  did  not  breathe  out 
moisture  from  their  pores.  You  can  see  how  this  is  if  in  a hot 
day  you  walk  across  a sandy  plain  where  there  are  no  leaves  ex- 
cept those  of  the  scanty  grass  and  weeds.  Here  no  moisture  is 
breathed  out  upon  you,  to  lessen  the  heat  that  you  suffer  from  the 
burning  sun. 

Another  use  of  the  leaves  is  this.  They  are  pleasant  and  beau- 
tiful to  the  sight.  I have  told  you  about  this  use  of  them  in  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  chapter. 

Another  use  of  leaves  is  to  give  shade.  We  know  how  re- 
freshing this  is  to  us  in  a hot  day.  When  in  a city  we  walk 
through  streets  where  there  are  no  trees,  how  delightful  it  is  to 
come  out  of  the  blazing  sun  into  a square  that  is  full  of  trees ! 
How  comfortable  are  the  cows  in  the  pasture  lying  under  the 
trees  at  mid-day,  chewing  the  cud ! 

But  the  shade  given  by  leaves  does  good  not  merely  to  man 
and  animals.  It  does  good  to  fruits,  if  there  is  not  too  much  of 
it.  The  sun  would  very  often  be  too  hot  for  the  fruits,  if  it  shone 
full  on  them  all  the  time.  So  the  leaves  partly  shade  them. 

The  chief  use  of  leaves  is  to  keep  plants  and  trees  alive  and 


THE  USES  OF  LEAVES, 


81 


The  grape-vine  stripped  of  its  leaves.  Leaves  are  lungs  to  plants. 

make  them  grow.  If  you  should  strip  off  the  leaves  from  a plant 
as  fast  as  they  came  out,  you  would,  after  a while,  kill  it.  Some- 
times worms  eat  up  the  leaves  on  trees.  If  this  is  done  year  after 
year  to  a tree  it  dies.  I knew  a man  to  strip  off  all  the  leaves 
from  a grape-vine.  He  thought  that  it  would  make  the  grapes 
grow  finely.  He  had  seen  people  take  off  some  of  the  branches 
from  grape-vines,  to  make  the  grapes  grow  large  and  full.  So  he 
thought  that  if  he  took  all  the  leaves  off,  the  sap  would  all  go 
into  the  grapes  and  make  them  very  large.  He  thought,  too,  that 
the  sun  would  make  them  ripen  fast.  But  he  found  that  the 
grapes  stopped  growing,  and  wilted,  and  dropped  off.  There  are 
two  reasons  for  this.  The  sun  was  too  hot  for  the  grapes  when 
all  the  leaves  were  gone.  And  besides,  there  were  some  leaves 
needed  to  keep  the  grapes  alive. 

Leaves  are  the  same  thing  to  plants  that  lungs  are  to  an  animal. 
The  air  that  goes  into  our  lungs  helps  to  keep  us  alive  and  make 
us  grow.  So  the  air  that  is  all  about  the  leaves  of  a plant  or  tree 
helps  to  keep  it  alive  and  to  make  it  grow.  How  this  is  done  you 
can  not  understand  now.  I explain  it  in  another  book,  which  you 
will  be  able  to  understand  when  you  are  a little  older. 

There  is  one  thing  about  this  that  you  can  understand,  which 
is  very  curious.  The  air  does  not  keep  the  plants  alive  in  just 
the  same  way  that  it  does  animals.  You  know  that  by  breathing 
air  we  make  it  bad ; and  so  we  must  have  all  the  time  a supply 
of  fresh  air.  Now  what  do  you  think  becomes  of  the  bad  part 
of  the  air  that  we  breathe  out  from  the  lungs  ? The  leaves  all 
around  us  take  it  in.  It  is  good  for  them.  It  makes  them  and 
i F 


82 


THE  USES  OF  LEAVES. 


The  barter  between  lungs  and  leaves. 


How  it  is  carried  on  in  winter. 


the  plants  that  they  are  on  grow.  They  then,  like  our  lungs,  are 
all  the  time  taking  in  air  and  giving  out  air.  And  leaves  take 
what  lungs  give,  and  lungs  take  what  leaves  give.  So  lungs 
and  leaves  have  a sort  of  trade  together.  They  are  always  mak- 
ing this  exchange  with  each  other.  And  it  is  a good  bargain  for 
both.  Both  get  what  they  want,  and  barter  away  what  they  do 
not  want. 

But  in  winter,  when  the  leaves  are  all  gone  except  those  on  the 
evergreens,  how  is  it  with  this  trade  between  lungs  and  leaves  ? 
Lungs  are  all  the  time  giving  out  bad  air;  but  there  are  not 
leaves  enougli  on  the  evergreens  to  take  it  all,  and  give  back  the 
good  air.  Well,  what  is  to  be  done  ? A barter  is  carried  on  with 
the  leaves  a great  way  off  in  the  southern  countries.  The  air 
moves  about  so  freely  that  this  is  easily  done.  The  bad  air  goes 
there,  and  the  leaves  that  take  it  into  their  pores  give  out  the  good 
air,  which  immediately  spreads  every  where,  even  to  us  at  the 
north.  It  is  a free  trade — as  free  as  air,  as  we  may  say.  There 
is  not  as  much  bad  air  made  by  lungs  in  winter  as  in  summer, 
because  many  animals  are  either  dead  or  torpid.  But  what  is 
made  is  disposed  of  mostly  in  this  way. 

Questions. — How  are  leaves  useful  to  us  in  giving  out  moisture  to  the  air  ? What 
use  of  them  is  next  mentioned  ? What  is  said  of  the  shade  made  by  leaves  ? Is 
this  shade  useful  to  fruits  ? What  is  the  chief  use  of  leaves  ? Tell  about  the  man 
who  stripped  the  leaves  from  his  grape-vine.  How  are  leaves  like  our  lungs  ? What 
kind  of  barter  is  there  between  leaves  and  the  lungs  of  animals  ? How  is  this  bar- 
ter carried  on  in  winter  ? 


LEAVES  IN  THE  AUTUMN. 


83 


The  fall  of  leaves.  Evergreens.  Change  of  color  in  leaves  in  autumn. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

LEAVES  IN  THE  AUTUMN. 

In  the  autumn  in  cold  climates  the  leaves  fall.  This  is  the 
reason  that  the  autumn  is  called  the  fall  of  the  year.  There  are 
some  trees  that  have  leaves  on  them  all  the  time.  These  are 
called  evergreens.  In  very  hot  climates  the  leaves  of  trees  and 
bushes  are  out  all  the  year  round.  They  have  no  particular  time 
to  fall.  And  some  leaves  stay  on  for  many  years.  Those  that 
stay  on  so  long  grow  to  be  very  large. 

If  a tree  or  a bush  that  has  its  leaves  fall  in  the  autumn  in  a 
cold  climate  be  raised  in  a warm  climate,  it  will  there  keep  its 
leaves  on  all  the  year.  In  the  southern  parts  of  Europe  quince- 
trees  are  evergreen.  The  currant-bush,  which,  you  know,  with  us 
is  bare  through  the  winter,  in  a hot  country  has  leaves  on  it  all 
the  year. 

Before  the  leaves  fall,  many  of  them,  you  know,  become  very 
beautifully  colored.  The  variety  of  colors  that  you  see  in  differ- 
ent trees  is  very  pleasing  to  the  eye.  The  maple-leaf  is  colored 
bright  red,  the  oak  a deep  red,  the  walnut  yellow,  and  other  trees 
have  their  leaves  variously  colored. 

Some  trees  change  their  leaves  earlier  than  others,  and  some 
at  first  are  only  partly  changed.  So  you  see  the  green  mingled 
beautifully  with  the  bright  red,  yellow,  and  other  colors.  I 
have  often  admired  a single  tree  standing  by  itself  when  it  is 


84 


LEAVES  IN  THE  AUTUMN. 


Brilliant  and  varied  beauty  of  the  forests  in  autumn. 

partly  changed.  The  maple  is  particularly  beautiful.  The  top 
generally  changes  first.  You  often  see  the  top  bright  red,  and 
then  the  red  is  mixed  with  the  green  here  and  there  in  other  parts 
of  the  tree.  A little  w'ay  off  it  looks  as  if  the  top  were  a cluster 
of  red  flowers.  And  the  other  parts  of  the  tree  look  as  if  the 
flowers  were  coming  out  among  the  green  leaves. 

When  the  sun  shines  brightly  all  the  different  colors  of  the 
leaves  make  the  woods  look  at  a little  distance  as  if  they  were 
all  covered  with  blossoms.  It  is  a very  splendid  sight  that  you 
see  when  you  look  off  from  a high  hill  over  the  woods  on  the  hills 
and  valleys.  It  looks  as  if  monstrous  bouquets  of  flowers  had 
been  stuck  down  thick  together  in  the  ground. 

Such  a sight  is  especially  splendid  when  the  sun  is  nearly 
down.  Then  the  light  and  shade  vary  the  scene.  Here  you  see 
the  top  of  a tall  tree  standing  bright  in  the  sun,  while  the  other 
trees  around  are  in  the  shade.  There  you  see  a whole  cluster  of 
tall  trees  lighted  up  on  one  side.  Here  is  a shaded  spot,  and 
there,  close  by,  is  a very  bright  spot,  the  sun  shining  upon  it 
through  some  break  in  a hill.  The  colors  in  the  lighted  spots 
look  the  brighter  for  the  shaded  spots  near  by. 

So,  too,  it  is  very  beautiful  when,  with  the  sun  overhead,  broken 
clouds  are  passing  quickly  in  the  sky.  The  swift  shadows  of  the 
clouds  give  constant  changes  to  the  scene.  One  shadow  seems 
to  be  chasing  another  over  a bed  of  flowers. 

When  the  leaves  put  on  these  bright  colors  it  is  the  beginning 
of  their  death.  They  soon  fall  to  the  ground,  and  decay,  and  be- 
come a part  of  the  earth.  Some  one  has  said  that  flowers  are 


LEAVES  IN  THE  AUTUMN. 


85 


What  makes  the  colors  of  the  leaves  in  autumn. 


Forests  in  England. 


God’s  smiles.  So  we  may  say  that  God  smiles  upon  us  in  the 
dying  leaf,  when  he  makes  it  so  much  like  a flower. 

How  it  is  that  all  these  different  colors  are  made  in  the  leaves 
in  the  autumn  we  know  not.  It  is  said  that  the  frost  makes 
them,  but  no  one  can  tell  how  it  does  it.  And,  indeed,  it  is  prob- 
ably not  the  frost  alone  that  thus  paints  the  leaves,  for  the  change 
sometimes  begins  before  any  frost  is  perceived.  We  do  not  un- 
derstand how  this  effect  is  produced  any  better  than  we  do  how 
the  various  colors  of  the  flowers  are  made. 

It  is  singular  that  in  England  the  leaves  do  not  appear  in 
these  very  bright  colors  in  autumn,  so  that  an  Englishman  is  as- 
tonished at  the  beauty  of  our  forests  in  that  season  of  the  year. 
Now  why  it  is  that  the  leaves  are  not  affected  there,  in  the  same 
way  that  they  are  here,  we  do  not  know.  It  is  supposed  that  it 
is  because  there  is  more  dampness  there  than  there  is  with  us. 
Whatever  may  be  the  cause,  it  makes  a great  difference  with  the 
beauty  of  autumnal  scenery.  We  should  hardly  be  willing  to 
exchange  the  brilliancy  of  an  American  October  day  for  the  dull 
colors  presented  by  the  forests  in  England. 

Questions. — Why  is  autumn  called  the  fall  of  the  year  ? What  are  evergreens  ? 
What  is  told  about  quince-trees  and  currant-bushes  ? What  is  said  of  the  colors  of 
leaves  just  before  they  fall  ? Tell  about  the  maple  as  its  leaves  are  changing.  How 
do  the  forests  look  in  the  bright  sun  when  the  leaves  are  changed  ? How  do  they 
look  just  before  sundown  ? How  when  shadows  of  clouds  are  passing  over  them  ? 
What  is  said  about  God’s  making  the  dying  leaves  so  much  like  flowers  ? Do  we 
know  how  the  colors  are  made  in  the  leaves  in  autumn  ? What  is  said  about  the 
leaves  in  England  ? 


86 


LEAF-BUDS. 


Difference  between  leaf-buds  and  flower-buds. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

LEAF-BUDS. 

Leaves  come  from  buds  just  as  flowers  do.  If  you  look  at  the 
buds  in  the  spring  on  a tree  you  see  that  they  are  beginning  to 
swell.  They  grow  larger  and  larger,  like  the  buds  that  turn  into 
blossoms.  After  a while  they  unfold,  and  the  green  leaves  are 
spread  out. 

IIow  is  it,  you  will  want  to  know,  that  these  leaves  are  made  ? 
They  are  very  different  from  the  leaves  of  the  blossoms ; but,  like 
them,  they  are  made  out  of  the  sap.  The  sap  comes  constantly 
to  the  leaf-bud,  just  as  it  does  to  the  flower-bud,  through  the  fine 
pipes  in  the  stem.  And  so  this  sap  is  made  into  leaves. 

There  are,  then,  leaf-buds  and  flower-buds.  You  can  tell  them 
apart  by  their  shapes.  The  flower-buds  are  round  and  short ; 
the  leaf-buds  are  long  and  pointed.  You  can  see  this  difference 
Very  plainly  on  a peach-tree  in  the  spring. 

On  some  trees  the  flower-buds  open  before  the  leaf-buds.  This 
is  the  case  with  some  of  the  maples.  The  red  color  that  makes 
them  look  so  beautiful  in  the  spring,  before  they  have  put  out 
their  leaves,  is  owing  to  the  blossoms  with  which  they  are  cov- 
ered. These  are  quite  small,  and  they  are  very  rich,  if  you  exam- 
ine them  with  a microscope.  The  flower-buds  of  the  pencil-trees 
also  open  before  the  leaf-buds,  and  some  of  them  are  very  splendid 
with  their  multitudes  of  pink  blossoms. 


LEAF-BUDS. 


87 


Leaves  and  flowers  from  the  same  buds.  Buds  of  the  horse-chestnut  and  grape-vine. 

There  is  sometimes  another  kind  of  buds.  There  are  buds 
from  which  both  leaves  and  flowers  are  formed.  You  see  this 
in  the  lilac.  The  leaves  first  spread  out  from  the  bud,  and  then 
in  the  midst  of  the  leaves  comes  out  a cluster  of  flowers.  When 
we  see  all  these  leaves  and  blossoms,  and  remember  the  bud,  we 
wonder  that  so  much  can  come  out  of  so  little  a bud  as  this 
was. 

This  seems  very  wonderful  when  we  see  it  in  the  horse-chest- 
nut. I have  often  watched  from  day  to  day  the  buds 
of  this  tree  as  they  were  opening.  You  see  at  first  a 
small  bud  covered  with  brown  scales.  It  grows  larger 
and  larger  day  after  day,  and  after  a while  appears  as 
you  see  it  here.  Soon  you  see  it  open  and  the  leaves 
push  out.  But  they  are  all  folded  up.  You  see  them 
unfold  more  and  more  every  day.  After  a while  there  is 
a tall  stalk  with  leaves  having  long  stems.  Then  comes 
a large  cluster  of  blossoms  at  the  top  of  this  stalk. 

You  can  see  the  same  thing  in  the  grape-vine.  The 
grape-stalk  looks  in  winter  as  if  it  were  a dead  stick. 
It  does  not  look  as  if  any  thing  living  could  come  out 
from  it.  But  in  the  spring  you  see  little  buds  starting 
out  here  and  there.  Watch  one  of  these  buds.  You  will  see  it 
swell,  and  after  a while  leaves  will  unfold  from  it.  And  you  will 
see  that  what  comes  from  the  bud  is  not  leaves  alone.  It  is  a 
branch  with  leaves  on  it.  After  a while  clusters  of  blossoms  ap- 
pear among  the  leaves,  filling  the  air  with  their  fragrance.  Then 
grapes  form.  The  branch  goes  on  to  grow,  and  gets  to  be  many 


88 


LEAF-BUDS. 


The  unfolding  of  plants  from  buds.  Rock- saxifrage. 

feet  long  by  the  time  the  grapes  are  ripe.  All  this  comes  from 
the  little  bud,  and  is  made  out  of  the  sap. 

Now  suppose  you  could  see  all  this  happen  while  you  stand 
looking  at  the  vine.  Suppose  you  could  see  the  bud  swell,  then 
the  leaves  push  out,  then  the  flowers  form,  then  the  grapes,  and 
then  see  the  whole  grow  while  the  grapes  are  growing  and  ripen- 
ing. You  would  think  this  very  wonderful.  But  it  is  just  as 
wonderful  to  have  all  this  done  slowly.  The  great  wonder  is  that 
it  is  done  at  all.  No  one  but  God  could  make  all  this  come  from 
a bud.  And  he  could  do  it  in  an  hour  as  well  as  in  several 

weeks  if  he  thought  it  was  best. 

This  unfolding  of  plants  is  very 
beautiful  and  interesting.  I have 
often  watched  it  in  the  rock-saxi- 
frage, one  of  the  wild  flowers  of 
spring.  I have,  for  this  purpose, 
taken  it  up  with  a little  earth  around 
it,  when  it  was  nothing  but  a small 
bud  peeping  up  out  of  the  ground, 
and  have  put  it  into  a saucer.  As 
I watched  it  from  day  to  day  the 
bud  spread  out  into  leaves.  Then 
came  up  a little  stalk  out  of  the 
midst  of  the  cluster  of  leaves,  and 
on  the  end  of  the  stalk  appeared  a 
great  many  little  white  flowers. 
You  see  the  same  thing  in  the 


LEAF-BUDS. 


89 


English  cowslip.  The  crown  of  the  crown-imperial. 

English  cowslip,  which  is  represented  at  the  bottom  of  the  op- 
posite page.  All  this  came  from  a little  bud,  just  as  it  is  with 
the  rock-saxifrage.  That  curious  but  elegant  plant,  the  crown-im- 
perial, unfolds  in  a little  different  way.  A stalk  comes  up  in  the 
midst  of  the  leaves  ; but  as  it  grows  up  leaves  come  out  from  the 
stalk.  When  it  is  fully  grown,  and  in  blossom,  the  whole  plant 
presents  a singular  but  splendid  appearance.  The  long  pointed 
leaves  stand  out  around  the  tall,  straight  stalk  for  some  way  up. 
Then  the  stalk  is  naked  for  as  much  as  the  length  of  two  fingers, 
and  on  the  top  is  a crown  of  leaves  and  flowers,  the  flowers  hang- 
ing down.  It  is  very  well  named  the  crown-imperial. 

But  there  are  jewels  in  this  crown  that  most  people  do  not  see. 
They  are  to  be  seen  only  by  looking  up  into  the  flower.  In  each 
leaf  of  the  flower  where  it  joins  on  to  the  stem  there  is  a beautiful 
little  shallow  cup  which  is  very  white.  From  this  cup  hangs  a 
shining  drop,  like  a tear.  The  whiteness  of  the  cup  gives  the 
drop  a rich  pearly  color.  It  seems,  as  you  look  up  into  the  flow- 
er, as  if  there  were  six  splendid  pearls  fastened  there. 

Each  cup  always  has  this  drop  hanging  from  it.  If  you  put 
up  something  which  will  soak  it  up,  there  will  soon  be  another 
one  formed  there.  These  drops  are  the  honey  of  the  flower. 

Questions. — What  do  leaves  come  from?  What  are  they  made  of?  How  can 
yon  tfcll  the  difference  between  flower-buds  and  leaf-buds?  Mention  some  trees  on 
which  the  flower-buds  open  before  the  leaf-buds.  What  is  said  about  another  kind 
of  buds?  Tell  about  the  lilac — the  horse-chestnut — the  grape-vine.  Would  it  be 
any  more  wonderful  if  the  unfolding  of  the  buds  of  the  grape-vine  were  done  in  a 
siiorter  time?  Tell  about  the  rock-saxifrage — the  English  cowslip — the  crown-im- 
perial. What  is  very  curious  and  beautiful  in  the  crown-imperial  ? 


THE  COVERINGS  OF  THE  BUDS. 


90 


Scales  of  the 'horse-chestnut  bud. 


Treasures  in  the  buds  in  winter. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  COVERINGS  OF  THE  BUDS. 

You  remember  that  I mentioned  to  you  the  brown  scales  on 
the  buds  of  the  horse-chestnut.  I will  tell  you  what  these  scales 
are  for : they  cover  up  the  tender  bud  from  the  cold  of  winter  and 
early  spring.  These  scales  are  quite  thick,  as  you  can  see.  They 
are  glued  together,  too,  quite  tightly  by  a sticky  substance.  They 
make  in  this  way  a close  little  case  for  the  bud,  to  keep  it  snug 
from  the  cold  air.  When  the  weather  gets  warm  enough  the 
swelling  bud  pushes  the  scales  apart.  And  when  the  leaves  are 
out  these  scales  drop  off,  because  there  is  no  more  use  for  them. 

In  cold  climates  the  buds  are  always  protected  in  this  way  by 
a covering.  The  buds  that  you  see  in  the  spring  do  not  begin  in 
the  spring.  They  are  formed  the  year  before,  a little  while  before 
the  leaves  begin  to  fall.  And  as  they  form  they  loosen  the  leaves, 
and  soon  push  them  off. 

Now  in  these  little  buds  are  locked  up  all  the  leaves  and  flow- 
ers that  are  to  come  out  the  next  spring.  The  precious  treasures 
of  another  year  are  in  these  buds.  They  must  be  kept  safe,  then, 
through  the  cold  winter.  And  so  they  have  tight  coverings  to 
guard  them  from  the  cold.  They  are  all  this  time  quite  small, 
but  they  are  ready  to  grow  whenever  the  warm  weather  comes. 
If  you  should  pick  off  the  covering  of  one  of  these  buds  in  the 
winter  the  cold  air  would  freeze  it,  and  it  would  die. 


THE  COVERINGS  OF  THE  BUDS. 


91 


The  care  which  the  Creator  takes  of  buds  in  the  winter. 


These  coverings  have  been  called  by  some  one  the  4 4 winter- 
cradles”  of  the  buds.  It  is  a very  good  name  for  them.  The 
little  buds  in  these  cradles  rock  back  and  forth  in  the  cold  winds 
of  winter,  and  are  as  secure  from  harm  as  the  little  baby  in  its 
cradle  in  its  nice  warm  home,  shut  in  from  the  wintry  blasts. 

And  notice  another  thing.  The  inside  of  these  cradles  is  lined 
with  a soft  down.  This  is  the  bud’s  little  blanket  to  keep  it 
warm  in  its  cradle. 

In  warm  climates  the  buds  do  not  have  these  44  winter-cradles,” 
for  there  is  no  need  of  them.  The  buds  of  the  orange-tree  and 
leinon-tree  have  no  coverings. 

It  is  thus  that  God  takes  care  of  the  tender  bud.  He  always 
gives  it  a covering  when  it  needs  one  to  keep  it  from  the  cold. 
But  in  the  sunny  south  he  leaves  the  bud  naked  to  the  pleasant 
warm  air.  To  put  a thick  covering  over  it  there  would  do  it 
harm.  It  would  be  like  a man’s  putting  on  a heavy  overcoat  in 
mid-summer. 

Questions . — What  is  said  of  the  scales  of  the  horse-chestnut  bud  ? What  is  said 
of  the  buds  in  cold  climates  ? Why  is  it  very  necessary  to  have  the  buds  kept  safe 
through  the  winter?  What  very  good  name  has  been  given  to  the  coverings  of 
buds  ? How  is  it  with  the  buds  in  warm  climates  ? What  is  said  of  the  care  which 
God  takes  of  buds  ? 


92 


WHAT  ROOTS  ARE  FOR. 


The  business  of  roots. 


Mouths  in  their  fibres. 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

WIIAT  ROOTS  ARE  FOR. 

When  a seed  sprouts,  the  root,  I have  told  you,  goes  down 
into  the  ground,  while  the  stalk  goes  upward  into  the  air.  The 
root  goes  down  because  the  food  of  the  plant  is  in  the  ground.  It 
is  the  business  of  the  root  to  suck  up  this  food,  so  that  the  plant 
may  be  nourished  and  grow.  The  root  is,  then,  a sort  of  stomach 
to  the  plant.  If  it  had  no  root  it  would  not  grow,  any  more  than 
you  would  if  you  had  no  stomach  to  put  your  food  in. 

The  root  has  little  mouths  in  its  branches  every  where.  It 
is  by  these  that  the  food  of  the  plant  is  sucked  up.  They  are  so 
small  that  you  can  not  see  them  without  a powerful  microscope. 
They  are  in  the  fine  parts  or  fibres  of  the  root  that  you  see  hang- 
ing to  the  main  branches  of  it  when  you  take  up  a root.  We  are 
very  careful  not  to  break  off  these  fibres  when  we  take  up  a plant 
or  tree  to  set  it  out  again  in  another  place ; for  the  more  of  these 
little  mouths  there  are,  the  more  likely  will  it  be  to  live.  If  all 
the  fibres  be  broken  off  from  the  root  the  plant  can  not  live,  be- 
cause there  are  no  mouths  to  suck  up  the  food.  It  will  die  just 
as  you  would  if  you  should  stop  eating. 

As  there  are  little  mouths  all  over  the  fibres  of  a root,  there 
must  be  a multitude  of  them.  You  can  not  count  them  any 
more  than  you  can  count  the  sands  on  the  sea-shore.  These 
mouths  drink  up  a fluid  from  the  ground.  This  fluid  is  the  sap 


WHAT  ROOTS  ARE  FOR. 


93 


Mouths  in  roots  choose  what  they  will  suck  up. 


that  goes  up  in  the  stalk  to  nourish  the  plant.  Every  thing  in 
the  plant — the  leaves,  the  flowers,  the  fruit — is  made,  as  I have 
told  you  before,  from  the  sap  that  the  root  sucks  up. 

These  mouths  do  not  suck  up  exactly  the  same  thing  in  all 
roots.  The  sap  of  one  plant  differs  somewhat  from  that  of  an- 
other plant.  What  the  root  of  a pepper-plant  sucks  up  is  not  the 
same  that  is  sucked  up  by  the  root  of  a strawberry-plant.  The 
root  of  the  pepper-plant  sucks  up  such  sap  that  the  biting  peppers 
can  be  made  out  of  it.  And  the  root  of  the  strawberry-plant 
sucks  up  sap  that  is  fitted  to  make  its  pleasant  fruit. 

The  pepper-plant  and  the  strawberry-plant  are  so  different  from 
each  other,  that  we  should  hardly  suppose  that  they  could  grow 
out  of  the  same  earth  side  by  side.  But  they  can.  How  is  this  ? 
Do  the  little  mouths  in  the  roots  choose  their  food  ? They  do. 
The  strawberry  mouths  choose  what  will  make  strawberries,  and 
the  pepper  mouths  choose  what  will  make  peppers.  But  they  do 
not  choose  in  the  same  way  that  we  choose.  They  do  not  think 
about  it  as  we  do.  But  they  choose  just  as  well  as  if  they  did 
think.  Perhaps  they  choose  better  than  we  do.  We  sometimes 
make  mistakes  about  our  food.  But  they  always  choose  just 
right.  How  this  is  we  do  not  know.  God  has  made  them  in 
such  a way  that  they  suck  up  the  right  kind  of  food  from  the 
earth.  This  is  all  that  we  know  about  it. 

Very  commonly  different  kinds  of  plants  will  grow  in  the  same 
kind  of  earth.  What  a variety  of  plants  and  trees  you  often  see 
in  the  same  garden ! But  sometimes  one  plant  requires  a differ- 
ent soil  from  other  plants.  You  see  this  in  the  asparagus.  This 


94 


WIIAT  HOOTS  ARE  FOR. 


Asparagus  roots  like  salted  food.  Flowers  in  swamps. 

vegetable  does  best  in  a soil  that  has  considerable  salt  in  it ; that 
is,  it  thrives  on  salt  food,  as  we  may  say.  For  this  reason  we 
sprinkle  salt  over  an  asparagus-bed  in  the  spring. 

But  while  salt  makes  the  asparagus  grow  so  well,  it  will  kill 
other  plants.  It  will  kill  all  the  weeds  and  grass  that  happen  to 
be  in  the  asparagus-bed.  If  you  put  on  a good  deal  of  salt  no 
weeds  will  come  up  till  after  all  the  salt  is  sucked  up  by  the  aspar- 
agus. I had  a chance  last  spring  to  see  how  bad  salt  is  for  grass. 
The  man  who  put  the  salt  on  my  asparagus-bed  spilled  some  of 
it  on  a grassplot  close  by.  In  every  spot  where  it  fell  it  killed 
the  grass.  So  you  see  that  what  is  poison  to  grass  is  food  to  as- 
paragus. 

We  find  some  kinds  of  flowers  only  in  swamps.  These  will 
not  grow  well  in  the  high  grounds  where  the  soil  is  different. 
The  reason  is,  that  the  little  mouths  in  the  roots  do  not  find  the 
right  kind  of  food  there. 

Questions. — How  is  the  root  a sort  of  stomach  to  a plant?  Where  are  the  little 
mouths  of  the  root  ? What  is  said  about  care  in  moving  plants  or  trees  ? What  is 
said  of  the  number  of  mouths  in  a root,  and  of  their  size  ? Do  the  roots  of  the 
pepper-plant  and  the  strawberry-plant  suck  up  the  same  kind  of  food  ? What  is 
said  of  the  mouths  of  roots  choosing  their  food  from  the  ground  ? Tell  about  the 
asparagus.  What  is  said  of  plants  growing  in  swamps  ? 


MOKE  ABOUT  ROOTS. 


95 


Branching  roots. 


Fibrous  roots. 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

MORE  ABOUT  ROOTS. 

The  root,  "besides  being  a 
sort  of  stomach  to  the  plant, 
is  its  support.  The  plant  is 
fastened  by  it  firmly  in  the 
ground.  For  this  reason  a 
large  tree  has  a large  and  deep 
root.  Its  root  branches  out 
very  much  as  the  tree  does 
above.  It  is  shaped  as  you 
see  here.  But  when  the  plant 
is  quite  small,  and  there  is 

not  much  to  be  supported,  the 
root  is  different.  It  is  perhaps 
made  up  of  fibres  as  seen  in  this 
figure.  This  is  the  case  with  the 
roots  of  grass,  as  you  can  see  by 
pulling  up  some  of  it.  In  a piece  of 
turf  there  are  a great  many  spears 
of  grass,  and  so  it  is  full  of  these 
fibrous  roots  mingled  together. 

Some  roots  are  made  for  still  an- 
other purpose.  Besides  nourishing 


96 


MOKE  ABOUT  ROOTS. 


Beets  and  turnips. 


the  plant  and  supporting  it,  the  root  sometimes  answers  for  food. 


When  a root  is  intended  for  this  use  it  is  large.  Look 
at  the  root  of  the  beet.  Here  is  a figure  of  it.  The 


leaves,  and  with  a very  small  root  it  would  stand  up  in 


the  ground.  A small  root,  too,  would  answer  to  suck 
up  all  the  sap  that  it  needs.  So  small  a plant  could 
get  along  with  a very  small  stomach. 


you  that  the  seed-holder  is  sometimes  larger  than  it 
need  be  to  hold  the  seeds.  The  pear  is  a seed-holder, 
but  it  is  larger  than  it  need  be  if  it  were  meant  to  be 
only  a seed-holder.  It  is  meant  to  be  something  else. 
It  is  fruit  to  be  eaten  as  well  as  a seed -holder.  It 
answers  two  purposes.  So,  too,  when  a root  is  larger 
than  it  need  be  to  nourish  the  plant, 


it  answers  two  purposes.  Besides  sucking  up 
food  for  the  plant,  it  answers  as  food  for  animals. 

In  these  large  roots  the  mouths  that  suck  up 
the  sap  are  not  in  the  body  of  the  root.  They 
are  in  the  little  fibres  that  are  joined  on  to  the 
main  root,  as  you  see  in  the  beet.  In  the  root 
of  the  turnip,  as  seen  in  this  figure,  there  is  a 
sort  of  tail  going  down  into  the  ground  from  the 
bottom  of  it.  The  fibres,  where  the  mouths  are, 
make  a part  of  this  tail. 


plant  does  not  need  so  large  a root  as  this  to  nourish 
and  support  it.  The  plant  is  nothing  but  a bunch  of 


You  remember  that  in  the  chapter  on  seeds  I told 


MORE  ABOUT  ROOTS.' 


97 


Runners. 


Roots  of  dahlias. 


Bulbs. 


In  some  plants  roots  are  formed  very  curiously.  Shoots  start 
out  and  run  along  on  the  ground.  After  a little  while  these  run- 
ners, as  they  are  called, 
send  dowm  roots  into  the 
ground,  as  is  here  repre- 
sented. The  strawberry, 
you  know,  spreads  in  this 
way.  So  do  the  verbenas.  When  a runner  gets  fairly  rooted  it 
can  live  by  itself,  for  it  has  a root,  that  is,  a stomach  of  its  own. 
You  can  separate  it  now  from  the  main  plant  if  you  choose,  and 
set  it  out  somewhere  else.  This  is  done  whenever  we  plant  a new 
strawberry-bed. 

This  is  a singular  kind  of  root.  It  is  spread 
out  like  a hand.  Each  of  these  fingers  can  be 
separated  from  the  rest,  and  will  grow  by  itself. 

The  roots  of  the  dahlias  are  of  this  kind. 

Some  roots  are  bulbs,  as  they  are  called.  The 
onion  is  a bulbous  root.  Below  is  one  cut  open. 

You  see  that  it  is  all  made  up  of  coats,  one  inside 

of  another,  which  you  can  peel  off.  The  roots  of 
hyacinths,  lilies,  blue-bells,  and  crocuses,  are  bulbs. 
These  lie  in  the  earth  very  still  through  all  the 
winter.  The  life  in  them  is  asleep,  just  as  it  is  in 
the  buds.  But  it  wakes  up  in  the  spring,  and 
down  go  the  roots  from  the  bottom  of  the  bulbs, 
and  up  come  the  plants  from  their  tops.  It  is 
sometimes  said  that  a bulb  is  really  a bud,  only  it 
Gr 


98 


MORE  ABOUT  ROOTS. 


Slips  of  plants. 


Duck- meat. 


is  in  the  ground,  instead  of  being  in  the  air  as  most  buds  are. 
Thus  the  onion  is  a bud,  and  the  real  roots  of  the  plant  are  what 
you  see  branching  down  from  the  bottom  of  the  bulb. 

You  have  heard  people  talk  about  setting  out  slips.  A slip  is 
a branch  of  a plant.  Some  plants  will  grow  from  slips.  Gera- 
niums will.  If  you  put  a slip  of  geranium  into  the  ground  and 
keep  it  well  watered,  a root  will  shoot  down  into  the  earth  from 
the  end  of  the  stem.  And  so  the  branch  cut  off  becomes  a grow- 
ing plant.  Before  it  was  cut  off  it  got  its  food  with  the  other 
branches  from  the  root  of  the  plant  to  which  it  belonged.  After 
it  was  cut  off  it  could  not  live  unless  it  could  get  a root  of  its 
own  to  suck  up  its  food  from  the  ground. 

Most  plants  get  their  food  from  the  ground.  But  some  do  not. 
Some  get  their  food  from  water.  This  is  the  case  with  a plant 
called  duck-meat,  that  is  found  in  ponds  and  ditches  where  the  wa- 
ter is  still.  You  see  little  leaves  on  the 
surface  of  the  water,  and  the  roots  hang  like 
-P=-  threads  from  the  leaves.  This  is  repre- 
sented in  this  figure.  Now  there  is  some- 
thing in  the  water  in  these  places  which  is 
sucked  up  by  these  roots  and  makes  the 
leaves  grow.  Sea-weed  has  no  roots  extending  down  into  the 
ground,  but  it  gets  its  nourishment  from  the  water. 

There  are  some  plants  that  live  on  other  plants.  The  mosses 
that  you  see  on  trees  are  plants  of  this  kind.  At  the  South  there 
is  a kind  of  gray  moss  that  hangs  down  from  the  branches  of 
trees,  sometimes  to  a great  length.  It  makes  the  land  look  as  if 


MORE  ABOUT  ROOTS. 


99 


Hanging  moss. 


Dodder,  or  love-vine. 


it  were  bung  in  mourning.  The  sap  that  nourishes  this  plant 
it  gets  from  the  bark  of  the  trees.  There  are  mouths  in  the  moss 
where  it  hangs  from  the  tree  that  suck  in  the  sap  which  they  find 
there. 

The  dodder,  or  love- vine,  is  a curious  plant.  It  lives  on  other 
plants.  It  comes  up  out  of  the  ground  and  clings  to  any  plant 
that  happens  to  be  near  it.  After  it  is  well  fastened,  and  has 
grown  considerably,  its  root  in  the  ground  dies.  The  little  vine 
does  not  need  it  any  longer,  for  it  clings  by  real  roots  to  the  plant 
up  which  it  runs.  This  is  the  reason  that  it  is  called  love-vine ; 
for,  like  love,  it  lives  on  that  to  which  it  clings.  This  vine  has 
no  leaves,  and  it  is  of  a bright-yellow  color.  So  it  is  sometimes 
called  gold-thread  vine. 

Questions . — What  is  said  about  the  root  as  a support  for  a tree  ? How  is  it  with 
the  roots  of  grass?  What  is  said  about  roots  that  are  for  food?  Tell  about  the 
root  of  the  beet.  Give  the  comparison  made  between  roots  and  seed-holders.  What 
is  said  of  the  root  of  the  turnip  ? What  of  the  roots  of  strawberries  and  verbenas  ? 
What  of  the  roots  of  dahlias  ? What  is  said  of  bulbs  ? How  do  plants  grow  from 
slips  ? What  is  said  about  the  duck-meat  ? What  is  said  of  mosses  ? Tell  about 
the  dodder. 


100 


STALKS  AND  TRUNKS. 


Trunks  of  trees. 


Stalks  of  grain  and  grass  have  flint  in  them. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

STALKS  AND  TRUNKS. 

We  speak  of  plants  as  having  stalks,  and  of  trees  as  having 
trunks.  A tree  has  a stout  firm  trunk,  "because  its  top  is  so  large 
and  heavy.  Its  branches  spread  out  so  much,  that  the  tree  would 
be  broken  down  by  the  wind  if  it  did  not  have  a strong  trunk. 

It  is  the  woody  part  of  the  trunk  that  is  so  strong.  The  stalks 
of  plants  have  no  wood  in  them,  because  they  do  not  need  it. 
They  are  strong  enough  to  support  the  branches  without  having 
any  wood  in  them. 

Some  plants  have  their  stalks  made  strong  in  a singular  way. 
There  is  a flinty  earth  in  them.  This  is  the  case  with  wheat,  and 
rye,  and  most  kinds  of  grass.  See  how  tall  the  stalk  of  rye  or 
wheat  is.  And  it  is  very  slender.  But  as  the  wind  bends  it 
over  it  does  not  break,  because  the  flint  in  it  makes  it  so  strong. 

It  is  this  flint  in  different  kinds  of  straws  that  fits  them  to  be 
used  in  making  hats  and  bonnets.  They  would  not  be  firm 
enough  for  this  use  if  there  was  no  flint  in  them. 

You  can  not  see  or  feel  the  flint  in  the  straw.  The  reason  is, 
that  the  particles  of  the  flint  are  so  fine,  and  are  so  well  mixed 
up  with  the  fibres  or  threads  of  the  straw.  It  is  this  fine  flint  in 
straw  that  makes  its  ashes  so  useful  in  polishing  marble.  In  some 
plants  you  can  feel  the  roughness  that  is  made  by  the  flint.  You 
can  feel  it  in  the  scouring-rush,  which  is  sometimes  used  by  house- 


STALKS  AND  TKUNKS. 


101 


How  flint  gets  into  stalks.  Shrubs.  Vines. 

keepers  in  scouring.  In  this  there  is  more  of  the  stony  substance 
than  there  is  in  the  straw  of  your  hat,  and  it  is  not  as  fine. 

But  you  will  ask  how  stone  or  flint  gets  into  these  plants.  It 
is  sucked  up  from  the  ground  by  the  mouths  in  the  roots,  and  it 
goes  up  in  the  sap  to  where  it  is  wanted.  It  is  wanted  in  the 
stalk  of  the  grain,  and  so  it  stops  there.  It  never  makes  a mis- 
take by  going  into  the  kernels  of  the  grain.  If  it  did,  the  flour 
that  is  made  from  them  would  be  gritty,  as  we  should  find  out 
when  we  came  to  eat  the  bread. 

All  plants  that  have  no  wood  in  their  stalks  die  down  to  the 
ground  in  the  autumn,  though  the  roots  of  some  of  them  live 
through  the  winter.  But  trees,  you  know,  remain  from  year  to 
year.  So  do  shrubs  and  bushes.  These  may  be  considered  as 
little  trees.  Some  shrubs  are  so  small  that  they  do  not  need  to 
have  their  stalks  woody  merely  to  support  the  branches.  Thus 
the  currant-bush  could  have  its  branches  well  supported  if  the 
stalks  were  not  woody.  In  such  cases  the  stalks  are  made  woody 
so  that  they  may  last  over  the  winter. 

Stalks  and  trunks  commonly  stand  up  of  themselves.  But 
there  are  some  that  can  not.  When  this  is  so  we  call  the  plant 
a vine.  Vines  are  supported  in  various  ways.  Some  are  held  up 
by  merely  winding  around  something.  This  is  true  of  the  bean- 
vine.  It  winds  itself,  as  it  grows,  around  the  pole  that  is  put  up 
for  it.  The  hop-vine  is  supported  in  the  same  way.  It  is,  you 
know,  quite  rough,  and  so  it  can  cling  firmly  even  to  quite  a 
smooth  pole. 

Pea-vines  are  held  up  in  a different  way.  Little  tendrils  are 


102 


STALKS  AND  TRUNKS. 


Tendrils.  Thunbergia.  Trumpet-creeper. 

put  forth  which  wind  around  the  branches  of  the  bushes  that  are 
set  for  the  vines  to  run  up  on.  These  tendrils  clasp  very  tightly. 
You  see  them  on  many  kinds  of  vines.  You  see  them  on  grape- 
vines,  and  on  the  vine  of  the  passion-flower.  Sometimes  the  ten- 
drils go  out  from  the  ends  of  the  leaves.  You  see  a leaf  of  this 
kind  on  page  68. 

A vine  called  thunbergia  is  held  up  in  a very  queer  manner. 
If  a leaf  happens  to  come  near  a twig  or  a string  it  twists  its  stem 
around  it.  So  the  stems  of  the  leaves  act  as  tendrils  to  support 
the  vine. 

The  vine  of  the  trumpet-creeper  is  supported  in  a singular  way. 
Whenever  it  touches  any  thing  there  come  out  at  the  joints  of  the 
stalks  some  sprawling  things  like  the  feet  of  a spider.  These 
feet  fasten  themselves  very  strongly  to  whatever  the  vine  is  run- 
ning on.  If  it  runs  up  the  side  of  a board  fence,  these  feet  mix  up 
their  fibres  very  tightly  with  the  fibres  of  the  wood.  It  is  curi- 
ous to  observe  that  where  any  part  of  the  vine  is  not  against  any 
thing  these  feet  do  not  appear.  They  are  made  only  where  they 
can  be  used.  The  plant  acts  just  as  if  it  knew  where  it  could 
use  them. 

Questions. — What  is  the  difference  between  stalks  and  trunks  ? Why  does  a tree 
need  so  strong  a trunk?  Why  do  the  stalks  of  plants  have  no  wood  in  them? 
What  is  said  of  the  flinty  earth  that  is  in  some  of  them  ? In  what  ways  is  the  flint 
in  straws  of  use  ? What  is  said  of  the  scouring-rush  ? How  does  flint  get  into  any 
plant?  Why  does  it  not  go  into  the  kernels  of  grain  as  well  as  into  the  stalks? 
What  becomes  of  stalks  that  are  not  woody  in  the  winter?  What  is  said  of  the 
woody  stalks  of  shrubs  ? What  are  vines  ? How  is  the  bean-vine  supported  ? Tell 
about  tendrils.  What  is  said  of  the  thunbergia?  Describe  the  way  in  which  the 
trumpet-creeper  is  supported. 


THE  BARK  OF  TREES  AND  SHRUBS. 


103 


The  outer  bark  of  a tree  its  coat. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  BAEK  OF  TEEES  AND  SHEUBS. 

In  the  trunk  of  a tree  or  the  stalk  of  a shrub  there  are  three 
parts.  They  are  the  bark,  the  wood,  and  the  pith. 

The  bark  is  not  all  one  thing.  It  is  made  up  of  two  parts ; 
or  rather,  we  should  say,  there  are  two  barks.  There  is  an  outer 
bark  and  an  inner  one.  The  outer  bark  has  no  life  in  it.  It  is 
this  outer  bark  that  gives  such  a roughness  to  the  trunks  of  some 
trees,  as  the  elm  and  the  oak.  In  the  birch,  you  can  peel  off  this 
bark  in  strips  right  around  the  trunk  of  the  tree.  Indians  make 
very  pretty  boxes  of  these  strips  of  birch-bark. 

The  outer  bark  is  a coat  for  the  tree.  It  covers  up  the  living  * 
parts  so  that  they  shall  not  be  injured.  It  does  for  the  tree  what 
our  clothes  do  for  our  bodies.  It  is  not  a perfectly  tight  coat.  It 
has  little  openings  every  where  in  it.  It  would  be  bad  for  the 
tree  to  have  this  coat  on  it  tight,  just  as  it  would  be  bad  for  our 
bodies  to  have  an  India-rubber  covering  close  to  the  skin. 

This  outer  bark  is  a great  protection  to  the  tree  through  the 
cold  winter.  It  keeps  the  cold  from  killing  the  trunk  and  the 
branches.  This  coat  of  the  tree  covers  it  all,  even  out  to  the  end 
of  the  smallest  twig.  The  tree  looks  as  if  it  was  dead  in  winter 
without  its  green  leaves.  But  there  is  life  locked  up  there,  just  as 
I told  you  there  is  in  the  seed  that  is  kept  through  the  winter. 
The  life  in  the  tree  is  asleep  as  it  is  in  the  seed.  It  is  ready  to 


104 


THE  BARK  OF  TREES  AND  SHRUBS. 


The  inner  bark.  Trees  sometimes  covered  with  straw  in  winter. 

be  waked  up  when  the  warm  weather  of  the  spring  shall  come. 
During  this  winter’s  sleep  of  the  tree,  the  living  inner  bark  and 
wood  are  safe,  covered  up  by  the  tree’s  rough  coat. 

If  you  peel  off  the  outer  bark,  as  you  can  very  easily  in  the 
birch,  you  come  to  the  fresh  and  juicy  inner  bark.  This  I have 
told  you  is  alive.  It  is  full  of  sap.  It  has  a great  deal  to  do 
with  the  growth  of  the  tree.  It  is  by  this  bark  that  the  wood  in- 
side of  it  is  made. 

You  have  sometimes  seen  small  trees  covered  in  the  winter 
with  straw  tied  nicely  all  around  them.  This  is  because  they  are 
tender  trees  that  are  not  used  to  our  cold  weather.  They  belong 
to  a warmer  climate,  and  God  gave  them  just  such  a coat  as  they 
needed  there.  And  when  we  undertake  to  have  such  trees  here 
at  the  north,  the  coat  that  God  has  given  them  is  not  enough  to 
keep  them  from  freezing  in  our  long,  cold  winters.  So  we  have 
to  put  another  coat  over  it. 

Questions. — What  are  the  parts  of  the  trunk  of  a tree?  Tell  about  the  bark. 
What  is  the  outside  hark  for?  How  much  of  the  tree  does  it  cover  and  protect? 
What  is  said  of  the  life  asleep  in  the  trees  in  the  winter  ? What  is  said  of  the  in- 
ner hark  ? Why  is  straw  tied  around  some  trees  in  winter  ? 


THE  WOOD  IN  TREES  AND  SHRUBS. 


105 


How  wood  is  made. 


Its  layers. 


Pipes  in  the  wood  for  the  sap. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  WOOD  IN  TREES  AND  SHRUBS. 

Perhaps  it  seemed  strange  to  you  wlien  I said  in  the  last  chap- 
ter that  bark  makes  wood.  But  so  it  is.  Every  year  the  living 
inner  bark  goes  to  work  and  makes  a layer  of  wood  out  of  the  sap 
that  is  in  it.  This  work  is  done  in  the  warm  weather.  In  the 
winter  there  is  no  wood  made.  The  tree  is  asleep  then. 

It  is  what  the  bark  does  that  makes  the  tree  larger  every  year. 
A new  layer  of  wood  is  formed  by  it  all  up  the  trunk,  and  along 
out  to  the  end  of  all  the  branches. 

The  different  layers  of  wood  made  in  the  different  years  are 
often  very  distinct  from  each  other.  You  can  see  them  in  a log 
that  has  been  cut  or  sawn  across.  Sometimes  they  are  so  dis- 
tinct that  you  can  count  them,  and  so  tell 
just  how  many  years  old  the  tree  is.  Here 
is  a representation  of  the  sawn  end  of  the 
trunk  of  a tree.  You  see  that  the  rings  of 
the  wood  are  very  plain. 

The  wood  part  of  the  trunk  and  branches 
is  full  of  small  pipes.  It  is  through  these 
pipes  that  the  sap  goes  up  from  the  roots 
and  gets  to  the  leaves.  It  is  in  this  way  that  it  goes  to  the  very 
ends  of  the  topmost  boughs  of  the  tallest  trees.  This  is  very 
wonderful.  How  the  sap  is  made  to  go  up  such  a great  distance 


106 


THE  WOOD  IN  TREES  AND  SHRUBS. 


Sap-pipes  numerous. 


Heart-wood. 


Pith. 


through  these  pipes  in  the  wood  we  do  not  know.  There  is  only 
one  way  that  man  can  make  water  go  so  high  through  pipes.  He 
can  do  it  by  a forcing-pump.  But  we  can  see  nothing  like  forcing- 
pumps  in  the  trees.  We  find  nothing  but  these  pipes  going  from 
the  roots  up  to  the  leaves.  And  the  sap  is  flowing  up  through 
them  very  quietly  all  the  time. 

In  a large  tree  there  is  a multitude  of  these  pipes  in  the  "wood. 
And  when  you  look  at  the  huge  trunk,  think  what  a quantity 
of  sap  there  is  going  up  through  it  all  the  time  to  keep  all  those 
leaves  fresh  and  green.  If  you  could  see  it  all  in  one  pipe  it 
would  be  quite  a stream. 

If  you  look  at  the  end  of  a log  you  will  see  that  there  are  two 
kinds  of  wood.  The  wood  in  the  centre  is  different  from  that 
which  is  around  it.  It  is  called  the  heart-wood.  The  pipes  in 
it  are  stopped  up,  and  no  sap  can  go  up  through  it.  The  pipes 
for  the  sap  are  clear  only  in  the  newest  part  of  the  wood. 

The  use  of  the  pith  of  trees  and  plants  we  do  not  understand. 
The  pith  is  very  small  in  trees,  but  it  is  quite  large  in  some  plants 
and  shrubs.  All  boys  know  that  it  is  very  large  in  the  elder.  It 
is  also  large  in  the  stalks  of  corn,  and  of  the  sugar-cane. 

Questions . — How  is  the  wood  in  a tree  made  ? What  is  said  of  the  different  lay- 
ers of  wood  ? What  is  said  of  the  small  pipes  in  the  wood  ? Do  we  know  how  the 
sap  is  made  to  go  up  in  them  ? What  is  said  of  the  quantity  of  sap  that  goes  up  in 
the  trunk  of  a large  tree  ? What  is  said  of  the  two  kinds  of  wood  that  you  see  in 
looking  at  the  end  of  a log  ? What  do  we  know  about  the  pith  of  trees  and  plants? 


WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP. 


107 


The  great  difference  in  things  made  from  sap. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP. 

Every  thing  that  you  see  in  a tree  or  a plant  is  made  from  the 
sap.  The  bark,  the  wood,  the  leaves,  the  flowers,  the  fruit,  are 
all  made  from  it.  Even  the  root  that  sucks  up  the  sap  from  the 
ground  is  made  from  the  sap  itself. 

It  is  strange  that  so  many  different  things  can  be  made  out  of 
the  same  thing.  It  is  strange  that  a rough  bark  and  hard  wood 
can  be  made  from  the  same  thing  as  the  beautiful  flower  and  the 
delicious  fruit.  Look  at  an  apple-blossom,  and  then  look  at  the 
bark  of  the  tree,  and  think  of  them  as  being  made  from  the  same 
sap.  You  can  hardly  believe  that  it  is  so.  How  strange  it  is  to 
think  of  the  sharp  thorns  on  a rose-bush  as  being  made  from  the 
same  sap  that  makes  the  soft,  and  smooth,  and  beautiful  leaves 
of  the  roses ! 

If  any  man  should  tell  you  that  he  could  make  a brick  and  a 
piece  of  cloth,  with  beautifully  colored  figures  on  it,  from  the 
same  thing,  you  would  say  he  was  crazy.  But  there  is  not  as 
much  difference  between  the  brick  and  the  cloth  as  there  is  be- 
tween rude  bark  and  a flower  made  from  the  same  sap.  The 
Creator  does,  in  the  most  common  plants  and  trees,  what  man 
can  not  equal  in  any  way. 

There  are  some  things  made  from  sap  that  I have  said  nothing 
about  as  yet.  There  are  many  bitter,  and  sweet,  and  sour  things 


108 


WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP. 


The  sugar-cane.  How  the  sugar  is  obtained  from  it. 

made  from  sap.  Sometimes  sweet  and  bitter  things  are  made 
at  the  same  time  from  the  same  sap.  You  see  this  in  the  orange. 
From  the  same  sap  that  comes  to  the  orange  through  the  stem 
are  made  the  sweet  juice  and  the  sharp  and  bitter  peel. 

Almost  all  our  sugar  comes  from  the  sugar-cane.  This  is 
shaped  like  the  stalks  of  corn.  The  sugar  is  made  from  the  sap 
that  comes  up  in  the  pipes  of  the  cane  from  the  ground.  The 
cane,  then,  is  really  a sugar-factory.  Man  does  not  make  the 
sugar,  but  it  is  made  for  him  in  the  cane.  It  is  in  the  juice  of 
the  cane.  This  juice  is  mostly  sugar  and  water.  In  making 
sugar,  as  it  is  called,  the  sugar  is  not  made.  It  is  only  separated 
from  the  water  and  other  things  with  which  it  is  mixed  in  the 
cane. 

The  sugar  is  made  from  the  cane  in  this  way.  The  cane  is 
cut  into  pieces,  and  these  are  put  into  a mill  where  they  are 
pressed  between  iron  rollers.  The  juice  squeezed  out  in  the  mill 
runs  off  into  a large  reservoir  or  tub  in  the  boiling-house.  It  is 
now  put  into  boilers  and  boiled  down.  In  this  boiling  the  water 
goes  off  in  steam,  but  the  sugar  remains.  When  it  is  boiled  down 
to  a sirup  it  is  put  into  very  large  wooden  trays  called  coolers. 
Here  the  sirup  becomes  sugar,  because  the  rest  of  the  water  goes 
off  in  the  air. 

The  way  in  which  sugar  is  made  perfectly  white,  it  is  said,  was 
discovered  in  a curious  way.  A hen  that  had  gone  through  a 
clay  mud-puddle  went  with  her  muddy  feet  into  a sugar-house. 
She  left  her  tracks  on  a pile  of  sugar.  It  was  observed  by  some 
one  that  wherever  her  tracks  were  the  sugar  was  whitened.  This 


WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP. 


109 


IIow  a discovery  was  made  about  whitening  sugar. 

led  to  some  experiments.  The  result  was,  that  wet  clay  came  to 
be  used  in  refining  sugar.  It  is  used  in  this  way.  The  sugar  is 
put  into  earthen  jars  shaped  as  you  see  the  sugar-loaves 
are.  The  large  ends  are  upward.  The  small  ends  have 
a hole  in  them.  Here  is  a picture  of  one  of  these  jars. 

The  clay  is  put  on  the  top  of  the  sugar  in  the  large  end 
of  the  jar,  and  it  is  kept  wet.  The  moisture  goes  down 
through  the  sugar,  and  drops  from  the  hole  in  the  small 
end  of  the  jar.  This  makes  the  sugar  perfectly  white. 

This  discovery  shows  how  much  a little  looking  and  thinking 
will  together  do.  What  the  hen  did  was  a small  thing.  One 
would  hardly  suppose  that  any  thing  could  be  learned  from  a 
hen’s  tracks.  Most  people  would  have  scraped  off  the  mud  from 
the  pile  of  sugar,  and  thought  nothing  more  of  it.  But  the  man 
who  saw  the  tracks  was  in  the  habit  of  thinking  about  what  he 
saw.  And  so  he  discovered  in  that  hen’s  tracks  a very  useful 
fact.  If  you  always  think  about  what  you  see  you  may  some 
time  be  a discoverer  too.  At  any  rate,  that  is  the  way  to  learn. 
And  it  is  to  help  you  in  learning  to  think  about  what  you  see 
that  I have  written  this  book. 

Questions. — What  things  are  made  from  sap?  Mention  some  things  very  differ- 
ent from  each  other  that  are  made  from  the  same  sap.  Give  the  comparison  about 
brick  and  cloth.  What  is  said  about  the  orange?  What  about  the  sugar-cane? 
How  is  sugar  made  from  the  sugar-cane  ? Of  what  use  is  the  boiling  ? Tell  liow 
one  way  of  purifying  sugar  was  discovered.  What  does  this  discovery  show? 


110 


MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP. 


Maple- sugar. 


The  sugar-cane. 


Some  plants  sugar-factories. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP. 

You  have  eaten  maple-sugar.  This  comes  from  a tree  called 
the  sugar-maple.  The  sugar  is  in  the  sap,  just  as  it  is  in  the 
case  of  the  sugar-cane.  The  sap  is  obtained  early  in  the  spring 
by  tapping  the  trees,  and  then  it  is  boiled  down,  as  it  is  called. 
In  this  boiling  the  water  goes  off  in  steam  and  the  sugar  re- 
mains. The  sugar-maple,  then,  is  a sugar-factory  as  well  as  the 
sugar-cane. 

There  are  many  roots  in  which  there  is  sugar.  Sugar  has  often 
been  obtained  from  a kind  of  beet  called  the  sugar-beet.  There 
is  sugar  in  many  fruits,  making  them  sweet  to  the  taste. 

Now  where  does  the  sugar  in  the  sugar-cane,  the  maple,  the 
beet,  etc.,  come  from  ? The  sap  in  which  the  sugar  is  comes  up 
from  the  roots.  You  will  say,  then,  that  the  little  mouths  in  the 
roots  suck  up  sugar  from  the  ground.  But  there  is  no  sugar 
in  the  ground.  No  one  ever  found  any  there.  Take  up  a hand- 
ful of  earth,  smell  of  it,  and  taste  of  it.  There  is  no  sweetness 
in  it. 

Though  there  is  no  sugar  in  the  ground,  what  the  sugar  is 
made  from  is  there.  This  the  little  mouths  in  the  root  drink 
up,  and  it  is  made  into  sugar  in  the  plant.  You  see,  then,  how 
true  it  is  that  the  plant  is  a sugar-factory. 

Now  do  you  think  that  any  man  could  in  any  way  make  sugar 


MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP. 


Ill 


Plants  make  starch,  medicines,  gums,  and  perfumes. 

from  the  earth  under  his  feet  ? He  can  no  more  do  it  than  he 
can  make  a flower  or  a leaf. 

There  are  a great  many  other  things  made  by  plants  from 
Avhat  they  suck  up  from  the  earth.  I will  mention  some  of  them. 

Some  plants  are  starch-factories.  They  make  the  starch  from 
the  sap  that  comes  up  from  the  root,  just  as  the  sugar  is  made. 
There  is  starch  in  every  kind  of  grain,  in  potatoes,  and  in  many 
other  roots. 

Some  plants  are  medicine-factories.  Camphor  is  obtained  from 
the  bark  and  wood  of  a tree.  Opium  is  found  in  the  different 
kinds  of  poppies.  There  are  various  bitter  medicines  that  are 
found  in  different  plants.  Castor-oil  is  obtained  from  the  seeds 
of  a large  plant.  These,  and  various  other  medicines,  are  made 
from  sap. 

Some  plants  are  gum-factories.  You  have  sometimes  seen  gum 
on  the  bark  of  peach-trees  and  cherry-trees,  when  the  bark  has 
been  wounded  in  some  way.  Now  there  are  some  kinds  of  trees 
in  which  there  is  a great  deal  of  gum.  The  India  rubber  is  a 
gum  that  is  obtained  from  some  kinds  of  trees  in  warm  climates. 
When  the  bark  of  these  trees  is  wounded  this  gum  oozes  out.  It 
is  collected  as  it  flows.  It  is  dried  in  smoke,  and  this  gives  it 
its  dark  appearance. 

Many  plants  are  perfume-factories,  as  I told  you  in  Chapter 
Y.  The  perfumes  are  made  most  often  in  the  flowers,  but  they 
are  sometimes  made  in  the  leaves  and  other  parts.  You  know 
how  fragrant  the  leaves  of  the  geranium  are.  Even  wood  is  some- 
times fragrant.  The  sandal-wood  is  very  much  so. 


112 


MORE  ABOUT  WIIAT  IS  MADE  FROM  SAP. 


The  great  variety  of  things  made  from  sap. 

Some  plants  are  color-makers.  They  not  only  make  colors  for 
their  own  use — that  is,  to  color  their  flowers — but  they  make  them 
for  us  to  use.  Many  of  our  dyes  with  which  we  color  cloths  come 
from  plants.  They  are  made  in  the  plants  from  the  sap  that 
comes  up  from  the  ground.  It  seems  strange  that  the  blue  indigo 
should  be  made  out  of  what  a plant  drinks  up  from  the  brown, 
dull  earth.  But  so  it  is. 

Now  just  think  over  the  various  things  that  are  made  from 
the  sap  in  plants.  There  are  wood,  bark,  leaves,  flowers,  fruits, 
thorns,  perfumes,  colorings,  sugar,  starch,  gum,  various  medicines, 
etc.  And  then  there  are  many  other  things  that  I have  not  men- 
tioned. How  strange  it  is  that  so  many  and  such  different  things 
can  be  made  from  what  the  plants  suck  up  out  ot  the  earth ! As 
you  look  at  the  ground  under  your  feet,  you  can  hardly  believe 
that  so  much  can  be  got  out  of  it.  It  is  the  busy  little  mouths 
in  the  roots  that  get  from  it  wThat  is  needed  to  make  all  these  dif- 
ferent things. 

Questions. — What  is  said  of  the  sugar-maple?  What  is  said  of  sugar  in  some 
roots  and  fruits  ? As  there  is  no  sugar  in  the  ground,  how  does  it  get  into  plants  ? 
Can  any  body  make  sugar  from  earth  ? What  plants  are  starch-factories  ? Men- 
tion some  medicines  made  in  plants.  What  is  said  about  plants  that  are  gum- 
makers?  What  is  said  about  perfumes  being  made  in  plants?  What  about  colors? 
What  is  said  about  indigo  ? Mention  now  all  the  things  that  you  can  think  of  that 
are  made  from  the  sap  in  plants. 


CIRCULATION  OP  THE  SAP. 


113 


The  difference  between  the  sap  that  goes  up  and  that  which  comes  down. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

CIRCULATION  OF  THE  SAP. 

I HAVE  told  you  that  the  sap  goes  up  in  a plant  or  a tree  in 
certain  pipes.  Now  when  it  gets  to  the  leaves  it  turns  about  and 
goes  back  again  down  toward  the  ground  by  some  other  pipes. 

So  there  is  a set  of  pipes  for  the  sap  to  go  up,  and  a set  of 
pipes  for  it  to  go  down.  In  a tree,  the  pipes  for  it  to  go  up  are 
in  the  wood.  Now  where  do  you  think  the  pipes  are  for  it  to  go 
down  ? They  are  in  the  live  part  of  the  bark.  The  sap  is  all 
the  time  going  up  to  the  leaves  in  the  one  set  of  pipes,  and  com- 
ing down  in  the  other  set.  And  this  is  what  we  call  the  circula- 
tion of  the  sap. 

The  sap  that  goes  up  has  a great  deal  of  water  in  it.  Much 
of  this  water  is  got  rid  of  when  the  sap  comes  to  the  leaves.  You 
remember  that  I told  you,  in  the  chapter  on  leaves,  that  water  is 
let  off  into  the  air  from  their  pores.  For  this  reason  the  sap  that 
comes  down  from  the  leaves  has  much  less  water  in  it  than  the 
sap  that  goes  up. 

The  sap  that  goes  up  is  not  perfect  sap.  It  has  to  make  a 
visit  to  the  leaves  and  get  an  airing  there  before  it  can  be  of 
much  use.  After  it  is  aired  it  goes  to  all  parts  of  the  plant,  down 
to  the  very  roots. 

It  is  this  aired  sap  from  which  generally  every  part  of  the  plant 
grows,  or  is  made.  You  remember  that  I told  you  in  the  last 
i H 


114 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  SAP. 


The  airing  of  the  sap.  The  sugar  made  from  the  sugar-maple. 

chapter  that  in  trees  the  inner  bark  makes  a new  layer  of  wood 
every  year.  Now  the  bark  makes  the  wood  from  some  of  this 
aired  sap  as  it  goes  down  in  the  pipes  of  the  bark. 

You  remember  that  I told  you  in  the  chapter  on  leaves,  that 
they  have  much  to  do  with  the  growth  of  a plant.  You  can  now 
see  why  this  is  so.  The  sap  has  to  go  up  to  the  leaves  to  be 
made  good  sap.  Just  what  the  air  does  to  it  there  you  are  not 
yet  old  enough  to  understand.  But  after  a little  time  you  will 
be  able  to  understand  this,  and  then  you  will  see  that  leaves  are 
very  properly  called  the  lungs  of  plants,  and  that  they  breathe 
with  them  as  we  do  with  our  lungs,  though  in  a different  manner. 

I have  said  that  the  sap  that  goes  up  is  not  of  much  use,  and 
that  every  thing  in  the  plant  is  made  from  the  sap  that  goes 
down.  This  is  not  always  so.  In  the  sugar-maple  it  is  the  sap 
that  goes  up  in  the  early  spring  that  has  the  sugar  in  it.  The 
sugar-gatherers  tap  the  trees  before  the  leaves  are  put  forth.  The 
leaves,  then,  have  nothing  to  do  with  making  the  sugar.  How  it 
is  made  we  can  not  understand.  We  suppose  that  it  is  done  in 
the  root,  where  the  mouths  are  that  drink  up  the  sap  from  the 
earth.  But  though  we  do  not  know  how  it  is,  in  some  way  every 
sugar-maple  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  be  warmed  by  the  air  of  spring 
becomes  at  once  a sugar-factory. 

Though  most  of  our  sugar  comes  from  the  sugar-cane  of  south- 
ern climates,  a great  deal  is  made  from  the  sap  of  the  sugar-maple 
in  some  parts  of  the  northern  and  western  states  in  this  country. 
A very  busy  time  they  have  in  some  places  in  the  early  spring  in 
collecting  the  sap  and  in  boiling  it  down.  The  sirup  is  often  sold 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  SAP. 


115 


The  sap  always  in  motion  except  in  winter. 


as  maple-sugar  molasses.  But  more  often  it  is  made  into  sugar ; 
and  great  quantities  of  it  are  sold  every  year.  In  some  places 
where  it  is  made  many  of  the  people  use  no  other  sugar. 

The  sap  is  all  the  time  in  motion  in  the  trees  and  plants  in  all 
the  warmer  months  of  the  year.  It  is  always  going  up  and  com- 
ing down.  It  does  so  till  the  leaves  fall  and  the  cold  of  winter 
comes.  Then  all  this  motion  stops.  And  through  the  winter  the 
sap  is  almost  as  still  as  if  the  trees  and  shrubs  were  dead.  Then 
when  the  spring  comes,  the  mouths  in  the  roots  begin  again  to 
suck  up  sap  from  the  ground,  and  it  runs  up  and  down  in  the 
little  pipes  as  it  did  the  year  before. 

As  you  look  at  all  the  trees  and  plants  about  you,  think  how 
much  sap  there  is  running  up  and  down  in  their  pipes.  Look 
at  a very  large  tree,  and  think  of  this.  In  multitudes  of  pipes  in 
that  huge  trunk  the  sap  goes  up  to  the  very  end  of  all  the  branch- 
es to  the  leaves,  and  then  it  comes  down  in  other  pipes.  How 
wonderful  this  is,  and  yet  how  few  there  are  that  ever  think 
about  it ! 

Questions. — Where  are  the  pipes  in  which  the  sap  goes  up  in  a tree  ? Where  are 
the  pipes  in  which  it  comes  down  ? What  is  said  about  the  water  in  the  sap  ? 
What  becomes  of  a part  of  this  water  ? Why  is  it  necessary  for  the  sap  to  go  up  to 
the  leaves  ? Are  things  made  from  the  sap  that  goes  up,  or  that  which  comes  down? 
How  is  it  with  the  sugar  in  the  maple?  Where  is  its  sugar  made?  Is  the  sap  al- 
ways in  motion? 


116 


THE  SLEEP  AND  THE  DEATH  OF  PLANTS. 


Most  plants  die  in  the  fall. 


How  trees  sleep  in  the  winter. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE  SLEEP  AND  THE  DEATH  OF  PLANTS. 

When  the  cold  weather  comes  some  plants  die,  and  some  go 
to  sleep  for  the  winter. 

Some  plants  always  die  in  the  fall.  Corn  dies ; so  does  the 
bean-vine.  And  so  do  many  other  plants.  In  order  to  have  such 
plants  another  year,  we  keep  some  of  their  seeds  to  put  into  the 
ground  in  the  spring. 

But  some  plants  sleep  in  the  winter.  Look  at  a tree.  Its 
branches  are  all  bare.  It  seems  as  if  it  had  no  life  in  it.  But 
there  is  life  there,  and  it  will  show  itself  next  spring.  Its  life  is 
asleep,  just  as  I told  you  it  is  in  the  seed  before  it  is  put  into  the 
ground.  Its  sap  is  all  quiet  in  the  pipes.  The  mouths  in  the 
roots  have  stopped  their  busy  work.  The  buds  all  over  the  tree 
are  asleep  in  their  “ winter-cradles.”  The  wind  rocks  them  back 
and  forth,  but  never  wakes  them  up. 

How  much  life  there  is  asleep  in  that  tree ! The  buds  are  all 
there  which  are  to  make  all  that  you  will  see  on  it  the  next  sum- 
mer. They  are  covered  up  snugly  from  the  cold  in  their  winter 
coats.  The  little  things  are  very  still,  but  they  are  alive.  They 
only  want  a warm  sun  to  make  them  show  it.  As  soon  in  the 
spring  as  they  feel  the  warmth  through  their  coats,  they  begin  to 
swell,  as  I have  told  you  in  another  chapter,  and  soon  open  their 
coats  and  go  to  work  to  make  leaves,  a^l  flowers,  and  fruits.  A 


THE  SLEEP  AND  THE  DEATH  OF  PLANTS. 


117 


Life  asleep  in  roots.  Decay  of  leaves  and  plants. 

great  work  they  do  after  their  long  winter  sleep.  Look  up  into 
a tree  in  summer  and  see  how  these  leaf-buds  have  filled  every 
branch  with  leaves.  You  can  hardly  believe  that  it  is  the  same 
tree  that  you  saw  so  bare  in  the  winter. 

Some  plants  die  down  to  the  ground,  and  their  roots  live 
through  the  winter.  You  know  that  this  is  the  way  with  tulips 
and  daffodils.  They  come  up  in  the  spring  from  the  roots  that 
have  been  in  the  ground  all  the  winter.  So,  too,  do  the  beautiful 
crocuses,  that  peep  up  so  early  in  spring  that  they  often  get  cov- 
ered with  snow.  The  roots  of  grass,  too,  live  in  the  earth  through 
the  winter. 

The  life  in  these  roots  is  asleep  through  the  winter,  just  as  it  is  in 
the  trees  and  bushes.  Their  little  mouths  do  not  drink  up  any  sap. 
How  much  life  there  is  asleep  in  the  winter  covered  up  in  the  earth ! 

What  do  you  think  becomes  of  all  the  leaves  that  fall,  and  of 
all  the  plants  that  die  in  the  autumn  ? They  are  not  lost.  They 
decay  and  become  a part  of  the  earth.  A great  deal  of  the  ground 
under  your  feet  was  once  in  the  shape  of  stalks,  and  leaves,  and 
flowers.  And  now  the  roots  suck  up  from  it  sap  to  be  made  into 
the  same  shapes  again.  So  you  see  that  the  dead  plants  and 
leaves  of  one  year  are  used  in  making  the  plants  and  leaves  of  the 
years  that  come  after. 

Questions. — What  is  said  of  plants  that  die  in  the  fall  ? Tell  how  it  is  with  a tree 
in  the  winter.  What  does  the  warm  weather  do  to  its  buds  in  the  spring  ? Men- 
tion some  plants  that  die  down  to  the  ground  in  the  fall,  but  whose  roots  live 
through  the  winter.  What  is  said  of  the  life  in  these  roots  ? What  effect  does  the 
spring  have  on  them  9 What  becomes  of  all  the  leaves  and  plants  that  die  in  the 
fall?  # 


118 


CONCLUSION. 


Knowledge  of  nature  increases  our  enjoyment  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

So  I have  told  you  in  this  book  many  things  about  trees  and 
plants.  And  I suppose  that  you  will  look  at  them  with  more 
pleasure  now  than  you  did  before  you  knew  so  much  about  them. 
Almost  every  body  says  when  looking  at  a handsome  plant  or 
tree,  how  beautiful  it  is  ! But  you  will  say  something  more  than 
this.  You  will  say  how  beautiful  and  how  wonderful  too ! You 
think  of  the  sap  going  up  and  down  in  the  pipes,  of  the  busy 
mouths  in  the  roots  drinking  it  up  from  the  ground,  of  the  many 
different  things  that  are  made  from  the  sap,  of  the  beautiful  leaves 
acting  as  the  lungs  of  the  plant,  and  of  the  leaf-buds  from  which 
the  leaves  are  made.  And  because  you  know  something  about 
all  these  things,  plants  and  trees  look  more  beautiful  to  you  than 
they  ever  did  before. 

You  have  always  admired  the  weeping-willow  with  its  long 
branches  hanging  almost  to  the  ground.  But  you  admire  it  much 
more  now,  because  you  think  how  wonderful  it  is  that  the  sap 
circulates  back  and  forth  in  the  trailing  branches.  Follow  it  as  I 
have  told  you  that  it  goes,  and  see  how  wonderful  the  circulation 
of  the  sap  is  in  this  tree.  It  goes  from  the  roots  up  through  the 
trunk,  and  down  the  trailing  branches  to  the  very  tips  of  the 
leaves ; and  then  it  mounts  up  again  through  other  pipes  in  the 
branches  to  the  trunk,  that  it  may  go  down  again  to  the  roots. 


CONCLUSION. 


119 


Flowers  and  leaves. 


As  you  think  of  all  this,  do  not  the  beautiful  branches,  as  they 
swing  back  and  forth  in  the  wind,  look  more  beautiful  than  ever  ? 

You  have  always  loved  to  look  at  flowers  with  their  various 
colors.  But  now  you  love  them  more  than  ever,  because  you 
know  something  about  how  they  grow,  and  what  their  colors  and 
perfumes  are  made  from,  and  many  other  interesting  facts  about 
them.  Even  fruits  will,  I think,  taste  better  to  you,  for  what  you 
have  learned  about  them  in  this  book. 

Leaves  are  such  common  things  that  most  people  do  not  know 
how  beautiful  they  are.  From  what  I have  tofd  you  about  them, 
I think  you  will  always  be  ready  to  examine  them,  and  see  what 
a variety  of  beauty  there  is  in  the  leaves  of  different  trees  and 
plants.  And  when  you  think  what  is  done  in  the  leaves,  and 
how  the  sap  comes  continually  to  them  to  be  aired,  you  admire 
them  more  than  they  do  who  think  of  them  merely  as  pretty  green 
tilings. 

Think  of  a leaf  as  made , for  growing  is  making.  No  one  can 
make  leaves  but  God.  But  suppose  that  a man  could  make  leaves 
and  put  them  on  a tree.  It  would  take  him  his  whole  life  to 
cover  a tree  of  any  size  with  leaves.  But  God,  as  I have  told 
you,  makes  the  leaves  out  of  sap  on  all  the  plants  and  trees.  He 
sends  to  them  the  warm  breezes  of  spring,  and  sets  the  sap  run- 
ning in  the  pipes,  and  then  the  buds  come  out,  and  from  them  are 
formed  the  leaves.  What  a busy  workshop,  as  you  may  say,  is 
every  plant  and  tree  in  the  spring  when  all  the  leaves  are  making ! 

I have  told  you  about  the  wonderful  change  that  we  see  in 
plants  and  trees  year  by  year.  What  multitudes  of  leaves  and 


120 


CONCLUSION. 


Changes  in  winter  and  spring. 


“ Seed-time  and  harvest  shall  not  cease.” 


flowers  fall  to  the  ground  every  year  and  decay  ! What  a waste, 
as  it  seems,  of  beautiful  things ! But  are  they  really  wasted  ? 
Oh  no ! God,  as  I have  told  you,  can  make  again  from  these 
decayed  leaves  and  flowers  other  leaves  and  flowers  just  as  beau- 
tiful as  these  once  were. 

How  wonderful  this  is ! Look  out  in  summer,  and  see  on  trees, 
and  shrubs,  and  plants,  flowers  of  every  color  mingled  with  the 
green  leaves.  What  a world  of  varied  beauty  you  behold ! You 
can  not  believe  that  all  this  will  be  soon  gone.  But  wait  a little 
and  there  are  no  leaves  nor  flowers.  All  is  bare  and  dreary.  The 
leaves  and  flowers  have  fallen  in  all  their  beauty,  and  the  snow 
covers  them  as  with  a winding-sheet. 

Is  it  possible  that  all  this  beauty  that  we  have  seen  thus  buried 
can  be  revived  again  ? Will  the  green  grass  again  appear  ? Will 
these  bare  trees  and  shrubs  again  be  covered  with  leaves  and 
blossoms,  and  will  the  flowers  again  spring  up  ? Oh  yes  ! We 
have  seen  God  do  all  this  year  after  year,  with  the  sunshine,  and 
the  rain,  and  the  dew  of  spring ; and  he  will  do  it  again,  for  he 
has  said  that  “ seed-time  and  harvest  shall  not  cease.” 

Questions. — With  what  thoughts  and  feelings  will  what  you  have  learned  in  this 
book  make  you  look  at  plants  and  trees  ? What  is  said  about  the  weeping-willow  ? 
What  about  flowers  and  fruits  ? What  about  leaves  ? What  is  said  about  leaves 
being  made?  What  is  said  of  the  change  that  you  see  every  year  in  plants  and 
trees  ? Tell  about  the  change  from  summer  to  winter,  and  then  from  winter  to 
summer. 


THE  END. 


THE  CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE, 


FOR  THE  USE  OF 

FAMILIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 


INTENDED  TO  AID  MOTHERS  AND  TEACHERS  IN  TRAINING  CHILDREN 
IN  THE  OBSERVATION  OF  NATURE, 


IN  THREE  PARTS. 

PART  II. —ANIMALS. 


By  WORTHINGTON  HOOKER,  M.D., 

AUTHOR  OP  “FIRST  BOOK  IN  CHEMISTRY,”  “CHEMISTRY,”  “NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY,” 
“NATURAL  HISTORY,”  ETC. 


tOitl)  Illustrations. 


NEW  YORK: 

HARPER  & BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN  SQUARE. 

188  2. 


By  Dr.  WORTHINGTON  HOOKER. 


THE  CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE.  For  the  Use  of  Families  and  Schools;  intended  to 
aid  Mothers  and  Teachers  in  training  Children  in  the  Observation  of  Nature.  In  three 
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FIRST  BOOK  IN  CHEMISTRY.  For  the  Use  of  Schools  and  Families.  Revised  Edition. 
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Published  by  HARPER  & BROTHERS,  Franklin  Square,  N.  Y. 

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Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundrd  and  fifty- 
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District  Court  of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


Having  presented  in  Part  First  such  facts  or  phenomena  of 
Vegetable  Physiology  as  would  be  interesting  to  a child,  I proceed 
in  this  Part  to  do  the  same  with  Animal  Physiology. 

The  teacher  and  parent  will  observe,  that  in  doing  this  I bring 
out  quite  prominently  the  analogies  that  exist  between  the  animal 
and  the  vegetable  world  in  the  operations  of  life.  Such  analogies 
are  always  interesting  to  the  child  as  well  as  to  the  adult,  and  the 
consideration  of  them  adds  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  observer 
of  nature,  for  it  opens  to  him  the  simple  plans  and  principles  upon 
which  the  Creator  works  out  the  almost  endlessly  varied  results 
that  life,  both  animal  and  vegetable,  presents  to  our  view. 

What  is  true  of  the  analogies  that  exist  between  the  two  king- 
doms of  life  is  also  true  of  those  that  we  find  in  each  kingdom  by 
itself.  I have  therefore,  in  this  Part,  traced  the  resemblances 
which  the  contrivances  in  the  human  system  bear  to  those  which 
we  see  in  animals  of  different  kinds,  and  also  the  differences,  giv- 
ing to  some  extent  the  reasons  for  them — that  is,  I have  made 
it  in  some  measure  a book  of  comparative  physiology.  The  effect 
of  this  mode  of  treating  the  subject  will  be  to  interest  the  child’s 


IV 


PEEFACE. 


mind  in  the  observation  of  the  various  animals,  great  and  small, 
that  he  sees  from  day  to  day.  Natural  History,  which  is  other- 
wise rather  a dull  study,  will  thus  become  very  attractive  to  him. 
And,  to  further  this  object,  which  I deem  to  be  of  great  import- 
ance, I have  noticed  the  habits  of  some  animals  in  such  a manner 
as  to  connect  distinctly  Physiology  with  Natural  History,  a rela- 
tion which,  though  an  obvious  one,  has  very  generally  been  dis- 
regarded. 

While  I have  aimed  in  this  Part  at  the  same  kind  of  simplic- 
ity as  in  the  First,  there  are  some  points  in  it  which  require  a 
greater  compass  of  mind  to  understand.  This  is  as  it  should  be ; 
for  in  going  through  the  First  Part  there  will,  of  course,  be  ac- 
quired by  the  learner  some  amount  of  skill  in  observation  and  rea- 
soning. I have  taken  special  care,  however,  not  to  presume  too 
much  upon  the  mental  advance  thus  made. 

WOETHINGTON  HOOKEE, 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PA3-R 

I.  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  THE  BLOOD 7 

II.  MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  THE  BLOOD 10 

III.  HOW  THE  BLOOD  IS  MADE 13 

IY.  MOTHER  EARTH 15 

V.  THE  STOMACH  AND  THE  TEETH 19 

YI.  MORE  ABOUT  THE  TEETH 22 

VII.  THE  CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 26 

VIII.  BREATHING 30 

IX.  BRAIN  AND  NERVES 34 

X.  HOW  THE  MIND  GETS  KNOWLEDGE 40 

XI.  SEEING 47 

XII.  HOW  THE  EYE  IS  GUARDED 52 

XIII.  HEARING T 57 

XIV.  THE  SMELL,  THE  TASTE,  AND  THE  TOUCH 63 

XV.  THE  BONES 68 

XVI.  MORE  ABOUT  THE  BONES 72 

XVII.  THE  MUSCLES 77 

XVIII.  MORE  ABOUT  THE  MUSCLES 82 

XIX.  THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVES  IN  ANIMALS 87 

XX.  THE  VARIETY  OF  MACHINERY  IN  ANIMALS 91 

XXI.  THE  HAND 96 

XXII.  WHAT  ANIMALS  USE  FOR  HANDS 102 

XXIII.  THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS 109 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIV.  MORE  ABOUT  THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS 115 

XXV.  INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK 122 

XXVI.  WINGS 131 

XXVII.  COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS 138 

XXVIII.  BEAUTY  OF  THE  COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS 142 

XXIX.  HOW  MAN  IS  SUPERIOR  TO  ANIMALS 148 

XXX.  THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS 153 

XXXI.  MORE  ABOUT  THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS 157 

XXXII.  WHAT  SLEEP  IS  FOR 162 


THE 


CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE. 


PART  IL— ANIMALS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  THE  BLOOD, 


The  blood  the  building  material  of  the  body. 


T HAVE  told  you,  in  Part  First,  liow  every  tiling  in  a plant  or 
tree  is  made  from  the  sap.  This  is,  then,  the  building  mate- 
rial, as  we  may  say,  of  the  plant.  Now  every  thing  in  your  body 
is  made  from  the  blood.  The  blood,  then,  is  to  your  body  what 
sap  is  to  a plant.  It  is  the  common  building  material  of  the  body. 

You  remember  what  I told  you  in  Part  First  about  the  full- 
blown rose.  This  is  made  from  the  sap  that  comes  to  the  bud 
through  the  pipes  in  the  stem.  Just  so  the  little  finger  of  the 
child  becomes  the  large  finger  of  the  man,  from  the  blood  that 
comes  to  it  through  the  pipes  in  the  arm.  And  as  the  stem  of  the 
plant  grows  larger  all  the  time,  so  does  the  arm  of  a child.  The 
sap  makes  the  stem  grow,  and  the  blood  makes  the  arm  grow. 

If  you  cut  off  a branch  of  a plant  it  stops  growing,  because  the 
sap  does  not  come  to  it  any  longer.  It  soon  dies  and  decays. 
So,  if  the  arm  of  a child  be  cut  off,  it  can  not  grow,  because  no 


8 


WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  THE  BLOOD. 


The  twig  and  the  infant. 


Variety  of  the  things  made  from  the  blood. 


more  blood  can  come  to  it.y  Like  the  cut-off  branch,  it  dies  and 
decays. 

You  see  a twig  come  up  out  of  the  ground.  It  grows  larger 
and  larger  every  year.  Soon  it  is  a small  tree.  After  many 
years  it  becomes  very  large,  and  spreads  out  its  long  branches 
over  a great  space.  As  you  look  up  into  it,  you  think  of  all  that 
you  see,  its  branches  and  leaves,  as  having  been  made  from  the 
sap  that  is  continually  running  in  its  pipes.  Now,  as  the  little 
twig  becomes  a tree,  so  the  infant  in  the  cradle  becomes  the  large 
man.  And  when  you  look  up  at  a man,  you  can  think  of  all  his 
body  as  having  been  made  from  the  blood  that  runs  every  where 
in  its  pipes,  just  as  you  think  of  a tree  as  made  from  the  sap. 

It  is  wonderful,  as  you  have  seen  in  Part  First,  how  many  and 
how  different  things  are  sometimes  made  from  the  same  sap. 
Look  at  an  apple-tree.  There  are  the  hard  wood,  the  rough 
bark,  the  tender  leaves,  the  beautiful  blossoms,  and  the  pleasant 
fruit,  all  made  from  the  same  sap.  But  the  variety  of  things 
made  from  your  blood  is  much  more  wonderful. 

Look  at  some  of  the  things  that  are  made  from  the  blood.  See 
the  skin,  the  hair,  the  nails.  Look  at  the  soft  red  gums  and  the 
hard  white  teeth  in  the  mouth.  Then  look  at  the  eye.  See  the 
eyelids,  the  eyelashes,  the  firm,  pearly-white  coat  of  the  eyeball, 
and  the  clear  window  in  the  front  part  of  the  eye.  See,  too,  in- 
side of  this  window,  that  round,  colored  curtain,  with  an  opening 
in  the  middle  that  we  call  the  pupil. 

All  these  different  things  that  you  see  are  made  from  the  same 
blood.  Then  there  are  many  other  things  inside  of  the  body  that 


WHAT  IS  MADE  FKOM  TIIE  BLOOD. 


9 


Bones,  muscles,  lungs,  brain,  nerves,  bile,  tears,  etc.,  made  from  the  blood. 


you  can  not  see.  These  are  the  hard  bones,  the  red  muscles, 
the  white,  shining  cords  by  which  the  muscles  pull  the  bones, 
the  light,  spongy  lungs,  the  thick  and  firm  liver,  the  soft  brain 
the  white  nerves,  etc.,  etc. 

How  strange  it  is  that  all  these  parts  of  the  body,  so  different 
from  each  other,  are  made  from  the  same  building  material,  the 
blood.  But  this  is  not  all.  The  wax  in  your  ears  is  made  from 
the  blood.  So  is  the  bile,  that  bitter  stuff  that  is  manufactured 
in  the  liver.  The  tears,  too,  are  made  from  the  blood.  There 
are  many  other  liquids  in  the  body  that  are  made  from  this  com- 
mon material.  "When  you  look  into  a person’s  eye  you  look  into 
a watery  fluid,  and  the  back  part  of  the  ball  of  the  eye  is  filled 
with  a sort  of  jelly;  both  of  these  are  made  from  the  blood. 

But  even  this  is  not  all.  The  arteries  and  veins  in  which  the 
blood  runs  are  made  from  the  blood.  Even  the  heart  that  pumps 
the  blood  is  made  from  the  blood  that  it  pumps.  This  is  as 
strange  as  it  would  be  to  have  the  walls  of  a canal  made  from 
the  water  that  runs  in  it,  or  to  have  a pump  made  from  the  water 
that  it  pumps  out. 

Questions. — What  is  every  thing  in  a plant  made  from  ? What  is  every  thing  in 
your  body  made  from  ? Tell  what  is  said  about  the  bud  and  the  finger,  and  about 
the  stem  and  the  arm.  What  is  said  about  cutting  off  a branch  and  an  arm  ? How 
is  a child  compared  to  a twig?  Mention  the  different  things  in  an  apple-tree  that 
are  made  from  the  sap.  Are  there  more  things  made  from  your  blood?  Mention 
some  of  them  that  you  can  see.  Mention  some  that  are  inside  of  the  body  that  you 
can  not  see.  'What  is  said  about  the  ear-wax,  the  bile,  the  tears,  etc.  ? What  about 
the  arteries  and  veins,  and  the  heart  ? 


10 


MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  THE  BLOOD. 


How  wonderful  it  is  that  so  many  things  are  made  from  the  blood. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

MOKE  ABOUT  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  THE  BLOOD. 

How  different  from  each  other  are  some  of  the  things  that  are 
made  from  the  blood ! You  could  hardly  believe  that  the  white, 
hard  teeth  are  made  from  the  same  blood  that  the  red,  soft  gums 
are.  Suppose  that  while  you  are  in  a China-ware  factory  a man 
should  tell  you  that  even  the  whitest  China  is  made  from  a red 
liquid,  and  that  they  also  make  in  this  factory  fine  red  cloth  from 
this  liquid.  You  would  not  believe  him.  But  white  China-ware 
and  the  fine  red  cloth  are  not  any  more  unlike  than  the  teeth  and 
the  gums. 

Suppose,  now,  that  he  should  show  you  a yellow,  bitter  fluid, 
and  then  a clear,  soft  eye-water,  and  tell  you  that  these  he  makes 
from  the  same  red  liquid  from  which  the  China  and  the  red  cloth 
are  made.  This  certainly  you  would  not  believe.  And  yet,  in 
our  bodies,  the  bile  and  the  tears  are  made  from  the  same  blood 
with  the  teeth  and  the  gums. 

But  not  only  are  a few  things  very  much  unlike  made  from 
the  blood,  but  many  things  that  differ  from  each  other,  some  of 
them  much  and  some  but  little.  Suppose  that  the  China-ware 
maker  should  tell  you  that  besides  making  white  China  and  red 
cloth  from  his  red  liquid,  he  made  also  a variety  of  both  hard 
and  soft  things,  such  as  velvet,  and  various  kinds  of  cloth,  nails, 
glass,  etc.  Impossible!  you  would  say.  But  this  is  no  more  won- 


MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  THE  BLOOD. 


11 


The  China-ware  factory. 


The  body  the  house  of  the  soul. 


derful  than  that  hair,  teeth,  gums,  nails,  bones,  and  all  the  different 
parts  of  the  body  should  be  made  from  that  red  fluid — the  blood. 

But  suppose,  again,  that  the  China-ware  man  should  tell  you 
that  his  factory  was  made  from  the  same  red  fluid  from  which  he 
manufactures  so  many  things  in  it — that  the  very  pipes  that  carry 
the  fluid  around  the  building  were  made  from  it,  and  so  also  was 
the  pump  that  sends  it  through  these  pipes.  This  would  seem  to 
you  strangest  of  all.  And  yet  all  the  various  machinery  of  the 
body  is  made  from  the  blood.  The  liver,  that  manufactures  bile 
from  blood,  is  itself  made  from  blood ; and  so  of  other  things ; 
even  the  pipes  in  which  the  blood  runs  all  over  your  body,  and 
the  heart  that  pumps  it  into  them,  are  made,  as  I have  before 
told  you,  from  the  blood. 

The  body  is  the  house  or  habitation  of  the  soul.  It  is  a well- 
built  and  a well-finished  house.  The  bones  are  its  timbers.  The 
skin  is  its  covering.  The  hair  is  its  thatched  roof.  The  eyes 
are  its  windows.  It  is  a house  that  can  be  easily  moved  about, 
just  as  the  soul  wishes.  There  is  for  this  a great  deal  of  ma- 
chinery in  it.  And  the  soul  has  little  cords,  called  nerves,  run- 
ning to  all  parts  of  this  machinery,  like  telegraphic  wires.  There 
are  also  other  kinds  of  machinery,  as  the  breathing  machinery, 
the  machinery  for  taking  care  of  the  food,  and  the  machinery  for 
circulating  the  blood.  The  soul  resides  in  the  top  of  this  house, 
the  brain.  Here  it  sends  out  messages  every  where  by  the  little 
cords,  and  receives  messages  by  them.  Here  it  thinks  and  acts, 
and  some  of  the  time  sleeps.  This  part  of  the  house  is  very  cu- 
riously and  beautifully  fitted  up. 


12 


MORE  ABOUT  WHAT  IS  MADE  FROM  THE  BLOOD. 


All  the  parts  and  the  furniture  of  the  soul’s  house  made  from  blood. 

Now  all  the  various  parts  of  this  house  are  made,  as  I have 
told  you,  from  the  blood,  and  yet  there  is  more  variety  in  them 
than  there  is  in  the  parts  and  furniture  of  the  houses  that  man 
builds.  Suppose  that  a man  should  show  you  a great  quantity 
of  a red  liquid,  and  tell  you  that  with  that  he  intended  to  build  a 
house  and  furnish  it — that  he  should  make  from  it  all  his  stones, 
and  bricks,  and  timbers,  and  glass,  and  nails,  and  plaster,  and 
papers  for  his  walls,  and  paints  of  different  colors,  and  then  his 
carpets,  and  mirrors,  and  chairs,  and  curtains,  etc.,  etc.  You 
would  say  that  the  man  is  crazy.  But  God  makes  from  that  red 
fluid,  the  blood,  all  the  parts  of  the  house  of  the  soul. 

Exactly  in  what  way  all  the  different  parts  of  the  body  are 
made  from  the  blood  we  do  not  know.  Wise  men  have  studied 
this  a great  deal,  and  they  have  found  out  some  things  about  it. 
What  they  have  found  out  you  are  not  yet  old  enough  to  under- 
stand. After  all,  the  wisest  men  know  but  little  about  it,  and, 
with  all  their  wisdom,  they  do  not  know  enough  to  make  skin, 
or  hair,  or  any  thing  else  that  you  see  in  your  body  from  the 
blood  any  more  than,  as  I told  you  in  Part  First,  they  can  make 
even  a simple  leaf  from  the  sap. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  teeth  and  the  gums  ? Give  the  comparison 
about  China  and  cloth.  What  is  said  about  the  tears  and  the  bile  ? What  is  said 
about  the  variety  of  things  made  from  the  blood  ? Give  the  comparison  about  the 
China-ware  factory  and  the  machinery  of  the  body.  What  is  said  about  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  habitation  of  the  soul?  In  what  part  of  this  house  does  the  soul  re- 
side? Give  the  comparison  about  a house  and  its  furniture.  What  is  said  about 
wise  men  ? 


HOW  THE  BLOOD  IS  MADE. 


13 


Blood  made  from  food. 


The  mouths  in  the  stomach. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  THE  BLOOD  IS  MADE. 

I have  told  you  what  is  made  from  the  blood,  and  now  you 
will  want  to  know  how  the  blood  itself  is  made. 

The  blood  in  your  body  is  made  from  the  food  that  you  eat. 
It  is  made  very  much  in  the  same  way  that  the  sap  in  the  plant 
is  made.  This  sounds  strange  to  you,  but  it  is  true.  You  re- 
member that  I told  you  in  Part  First  that  the  plant’s  food  is  in 
the  ground,  and  that  the  root  is  its  stomach.  You  remember  what 
I told  you  about  the  little  mouths  in  the  root  that  suck  up  the 
plant’s  food  out  of  the  ground.  There  are  little  mouths  in  your 
stomach  that  suck  in  the  nourishing  part  of  the  food  that  you  eat, 
as  the  mouths  in  the  root  suck  up  the  nourishing  part  of  the  earth. 
And  the  stomachs  of  all  animals  have  these  little  mouths. 

The  mouths  in  the  root  of  a plant  do  not,  you  know,  suck 
up  all  the  soil.  They  drink  in  only  what  is  good  to  make  the 
plant  grow.  So  the  mouths  in  the  stomach  of  an  animal  do  not 
suck  up  all  the  food  ; they  suck  up  only  that  part  of  the  food  that 
will  make  the  animal  grow — that  is,  what  will  make  good  blood. 
There  is,  you  know,  no  sap  in  the  ground,  but  there  is  what  can 
be  made  into  sap.  So  there  is  no  blood  in  your  food,  but  there 
is  in  it  what  can  be  made  into  blood.  It  is  the  business  of  the 
mouths  in  the  root  to  take  in  what  will  make  sap,,  and  so  it  is  the 
business  of  the  mouths  in  the  stomach  to  take  in  what  will  make 


14 


HOW  THE  BLOOD  IS  MADE. 


Variety  of  our  food.  Stomachs  of  animals  suited  to  their  food. 

blood.'  And  they  generally  clo  this  business  very  faithfully.  It 
is  very  seldom  that  they  take  in  what  they  ought  not  to. 

You  have  seen  how  many  different  things  are  made  from  the, 
blood.  This  is  very  wonderful.  But  it  is  quite  as  wonderful 
that  the  blood  can  be  made  from  so  many  different  kinds  of  food 
as  you  sometimes  take  into  your  stomach.  Just  think  of  all  the 
various  things  that  you  sometimes  eat  at  dinner — meat,  potato, 
turnip,  squash,  apple-sauce,  cranberry,  celery,  pie,  filberts,  raisins, 
etc.  It  seems  strange  that  red  blood  can  be  made  from  such  a 
mixture  as  this.  But  so  it  is.  There  is  something  in  all  these 
different  things  that  helps  to  make  the  blood. 

The  blood  is  made  from  different  things  in  different  animals. 
The  cow,  you  know,  never  eats  meat.  It  would  be  of  no  use  in  its 
stomach.  The  mouths  there  would  not  suck  up  any  thing  from  it. 
This  is  not  their  business.  Their  business  is  to  suck  up  some- 
thing from  grass,  and  meal,  and  potatoes,  etc.,  but  not  from  meat. 
So  grass  would  be  of  no  use  to  a dog.  The  Creator  has  made  the 
stomach  of  the  cow  in  such  a way  that  it  can  get  from  grass  what 
is  needed  to  make  blood;  and  he  has  given  such  a stomach  to  a 
dog  that  blood  can  be  made  from  the  meat  that  he  eats.  Our 
stomachs  are  made  in  such  a way  that  our  blood  can  be  made  from 
a great  many  different  things ; and  so  the  variety  of  our  food  is 
much  greater  than  that  of  such  animals  as  the  cow  and  the  dog. 

Questions. — From  what  is  the  blood  made  ? How  is  an  animal’s  stomach  like  the 
root  of  a plant  ? What  part  of  the  food  do  the  mouths  in  stomachs  and  in  roots 
suck  up  ? What  is  said  about  the  different  kinds  of  food  that  blood  is  made  from  ? 
Tell  about  the  food  of  the  cow  and  the  dog.  What  is  said  about  our  stomachs  ? 


MOTHER  EARTH. 


15 


Our  food  in  the  ground. 


The  plants  gather  it  and  fit  it  for  our  use. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

MOTHER  EARTH. 

The  food  of  plants  is  in  the  ground,  and  the  roots  take  it  up  $ 
but  so,  too,  is  the  food  of  animals  in  the  ground.  And  yet,  if  we 
should  fill  our  stomachs  ever  so  full  of  earth,  we  should  not  be 
nourished.  How  is  this  ? It  is  because  the  food  is  not  in  the 
right  condition  for  us  while  it  is  in  the  earth.  It  must  be  changed 
before  our  stomachs  can  do  any  thing  with  it. 

Now  this  is  just  what  the  plants  do  for  us.  They  get  this  food 
out  of  the  earth  for  us,  and  put  it  into  such  a condition  that  our 
stomachs  can  use  it.  I will  make  this  plain  to  you.  We  eat 
bread  made  from  wheat.  It  nourishes  us — that  is,  blood  is  made 
from  it.  But  what  is  the  wheat?  It  is  grain  that  is  made  from 
the  sap  that  comes  up  in  the  pipes  of  the  stalk,  and  this  sap  is 
made  from  what  the  root  sucks  up  out  of  the  ground.  You  see, 
then,  that  what  the  wheat  is  made  from  is  in  the  ground ; and  all 
that  the  plant  does  is  to  take  this  up  out  of  the  ground  and  make 
it  into  wheat,  so  that  our  stomachs  can  use  it  for  food.  The 
plant’s  stomach,  then,  we  may  say,  gathers  food  out  of  the  ground 
for  our  stomachs. 

One  of  the  things  that  we  eat  is  sugar.  Where  does  it  come 
from?  It  is  made  from  the  earth.  But  if  you  should  put  earth 
into  your  stomach,  no  sugar  could  be  made  from  it  in  your  body. 
There  are  some  plants  that  have  to  do  this  for  us.  They  make 


16 


MOTHER  EARTH. 


Changes  in  the  food  while  it  is  becoming  fitted  for  us. 

sugar  from  the  earth  for  us  to  eat.  This  part  of  our  food  then, 
may  be  said  to  be  really  in  the  ground,  for  what  it  is  made  from 
is  there. 

The  same  thing  is  true  when  you  eat  meat.  This  meat  was 
once  a part  of  the  ground.  See  how  this  is.  Suppose  it  is  a 
piece  of  beef  from  an  ox : the  grass  that  the  ox  ate  was  made 
from  sap  sucked  up  from  the  ground  ; then  from  this  grass  blood 
was  made  in  the  ox ; from  this  blood  the  meat  was  made ; and 
now  from  the  meat  blood  is  made  to  nourish  you. 

See,  now,  how  many  changes  the  food  in  the  ground  goes 
through  in  this  case  before  it  becomes  a part  of  your  body.  First 
it  becomes  sap ; then  it  becomes  a part  of  the  grass ; then  in  the 
stomach  of  the  ox  it  is  sucked  up,  and  is  changed  into  blood ; 
then  it  becomes  a part  of  the  ox ; then  it  is  sucked  up  in  your 
stomach,  and  is  changed  into  blood ; and  now  it  is  ready  to  be 
used  in  your  body  to  make  nerve,  or  bone,  or  eye,  or  tooth,  or  any 
part  of  the  house  of  your  soul. 

You  sometimes  drink  the  milk  of  the  cow.  This  also  comes 
from  the  ground.  See  how  this  is.  The  cow  goes  to  pasture, 
and  eats  the  grass  that  is  made  from  the  ground.  The  cow’s 
blood  is  made  from  this,  then  milk  is  made  in  her  bag  from  the 
blood,  and  in  you  this  milk  is  changed  back  to  blood. 

So  you  see  that  all  our  food  really  comes  from  the  earth.  There 
is  in  the  earth  under  our  feet  just  what  makes  and  nourishes  our 
bodies.  We  can  not  get  at  it  ourselves,  mixed  up  as  it  is  with 
the  earth,  but  the  plants  suck  it  up  and  prepare  it  for  us ; and  in 
this  you  see  the  reason  for  the  expression  “ Mother  Earth.”  The 


MOTHER  EARTH. 


17 


Reasons  why  animals  have  a stomach. 


earth  is  our  mother.  We  get  all  our  food  from  the  earth  as  really 
as  the  infant  gets  its  food  from  its  mother’s  breast. 

You  can  also  see,  from  what  I have  told  you  in  this  chapter, 
the  meaning  of  the  text,  “Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  slialt 
thou  return.”  We  are  dust,  that  is,  earth  ; for  we  are  made  from 
it,  and  are  nourished  by  what  comes  from  it,  and  when  we  die 
our  bodies  will  become  a part  of  the  earth  again. 

You  see  that  there  are  two  reasons  why  animals  have  a stomach 
to  put  their  food  in.  One  is  that  they  want  to  move  about.  They 
could  not  have  a root  for  a stomach  as  plants  do.  They  must  have 
a stomach  that  they  can  carry  about  with  them.  We  can  sup- 
pose an  animal  made  like  a plant.  It  might  have  feet  wdth  roots 
sprouted  out  from  them,  and  these  roots  might  have  little  mouths 
which  would  suck  up  food  as  soon  as  they  were  put  into  the 
ground.  But  how  very  awkward  and  inconvenient  this  would  be ! 
The  animal  would  be  obliged  every  now  and  then  to  bury  up  its 
feet  with  their  roots  in  loose  moist  earth,  and  stay  still  in  one 
spot  till  enough  was  sucked  up  from  the  earth  for  its  nourishment. 
And,  besides,  the  roots  would  be  dangling  around,  and  catching 
in  every  thing  as  the  animal  moved  about.  Your  little  feet  could 
not  carry  you  about  as  nimbly  as  they  now  do  if  you  had  such 
roots  fastened  to  them. 

Another  reason  is,  that  the  food  in  the  ground  is  not  fitted  to 
nourish  an  animal.  It  must  be  gathered  up  in  plants,  and  be 
changed  in  them,  as  I have  shown  you  in  this  chapter,  before  it 
can  be  of  any  use  to  animals. 

The  stomach  of  a plant  is  much  larger  than  that  of  an  animal. 
2 B 


18 


MOTH  Eli  EARTH. 


Why  the  stomach  of  a plant  is  so  much  larger  than  the  stomach  of  an  animal. 


The  stomach  of  an  animal,  you  know,  is  hut  a small  part  of  its 
body  ; while  the  root  of  the  plant — that  is,  its  stomach — is  nearly 
as  large  as  the  plant  itself.  What  do  you  think  is  the  reason  of 
this  ? The  little  mouths  in  the  root  of  the  plant  suck  up  only  a 
small  part  of  the  earth,  the  plant’s  food,  and  so  it  takes  a great 
deal  of  earth  to  give  the  plant  all  the  sap  that  it  needs.  It  is  for 
this  reason  that  the  root  spreads  out  so  far  on  every  side.  Now 
in  the  animal  the  mouths  in  the  stomach  suck  up  a great  part  of 
the  food.  It  does  not  require,  therefore,  a large  stomach,  for  it 
needs  to  put  but  a small  amount  of  food  into  it.  You  see,  then, 
that  the  food  of  the  plant  is  bulky,  as  we  say,  and  therefore  it 
must  have  a large  stomach,  while  the  animal  can  manage  its  food 
with  a small  one. 

Questions. — Where  is  the  food  of  animals  ? What  must  be  done  to  it  before  they 
can  use  it  ? What  do  the  plants  do  for  us  ? Tell  about  the  wheat.  What  is  said 
about  sugar  ? What  about  meat  ? Mention  the  changes  that  food  goes  through  in 
this  case  before  it  becomes  a part  of  your  body.  What  is  said  of  milk  ? What  is 
the  reason  of  the  expression  Mother  Earth  ? Explain  the  text,  “ Dust  thou  art,  and 
unto  dust  shalt  thou  return.”  What  is  the  first  reason  given  why  an  animal  has  a 
stomach  to  put  his  food  in  ? What  is  the  second  reason  ? Why  is  the  stomach  of  a 
plant  so  much  larger  than  the  stomach  of  an  animal  ? 


THE  STOMACH  AND  THE  TEETH. 


19 


What  is  done  to  the  food  in  the  stomach. 


The  grinding  of  the  food. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE  STOMACH  AND  THE  TEETH. 

The  little  mouths  in  the  stomach,  as  I have  told  you,  suck  up 
from  the  food  what  is  made  into  blood,  but  they  do  not  do  this 
as  soon  as  the  food  is  put  into  the  stomach.  The  food  must  be 
digested  first.  You  have  heard  people  talk  about  digestion,  and 
now  I will  explain  it  to  you. 

When  you  swallow  your  food,  there  is  a liquid  formed  in  the 
stomach  that  mixes  up  with  it.  This  liquid,  after  a little  time, 
changes  all  the  different  kinds  of  food  in  such  a way  that  the 
whole  looks  as  if  it  was  all  one  thing.  The  meat,  and  potato,  and 
pie,  etc.,  are  not  only  well  mixed,  but  they  are  so  changed  that 
you  could  not  tell  one  from  the  other. 

When  the  food  becomes  changed  in  this  way,  the  little  mouths 
begin  their  work  upon  it.  They  suck  up  from  it  a white  fluid 
very  much  like  milk ; and  it  is  from  this  fluid  that  all  the  blood 
in  our  bodies  is  made. 

Now  observe  what  is  done  to  the  food  before  it  goes  into  the 
stomach.  There  is  a mill  in  your  mouth  for  grinding  it  up,  and 
a very  good  mill  it  is.  There  are  twenty  teeth  there  for  the  pur- 
pose of  dividing  up  your  food  very  finely.  You  can  see  what  the 
use  of  this  is.  The  finer  the  food  is,  the  more  easily  will  the  di- 
gesting fluid  in  the  stomach  change  it.  It  takes  some  time  for 
this  fluid  to  soak  through  a solid  piece  of  meat  or  potato.  So 


20 


THE  STOMACH  AND  THE  TEETH. 


Breaking  up  the  food  of  plants. 


The  saliva  factories. 


you  see  that  you  must  not  swallow  your  food  too  fast,  but  must 
let  the  mill  in  your  mouth  grind  it  up  thoroughly. 

Something  like  this  grinding  we  do  sometimes  for  the  food  of 
plants,  itou.  know  that  in  the  spring  the  gardener  digs  up  his 
garden,  and  the  farmer  plows  his  fields.  What  is  this  for  ? It 
is  to  loosen  up  the  ground ; that  is,  it  is  to  break  up  the  food  of 
the  plants,  so  that  they  can  use  it  well.  If  this  was  not  done,  the 
hard  earth  would  be  to  the  plants  just  as  your  food  would  be  to 
your  stomach  if  you  swallow  it  without  chewing  it  well.  So  your 
teeth  do  to  your  food  what  the  spade  and  the  plow  do  to  the  food 
of  plants. 

While  the  mill  is  grinding  the  food,  there  are  some  factories 
about  the  mouth,  making  and  pouring  forth  a fluid  to  moisten  it. 
This  fluid,  called  the  saliva,  is  what  you  feel  in  the  mouth  when 
the  mouth  waters,  as  we  say.  The  two  largest  of  these  factories 
are  just  below  your  ears.  It  is  these  that  swell  up  so  much  when 
one  has  the  mumps.  These  saliva  factories  do  a moderate  busi- 
ness generally.  Most  of  the  time  they  only  make  enough  liquid 
to  keep  the  mouth  moist.  Sometimes  they  do  not  make  enough 
even  for  this.  This  is  the  case  when  your  mouth  gets  dry,  as  it 
is  apt  to  do  in  fever.  When  you  eat,  these  factories  do  a brisk 
business,  for  they  then  have  to  make  a good  deal  of  fluid  to  mix 
with  the  food.  It  seems  as  if  they  knew  when  it  was  necessary 
for  them  to  go  to  work  and  make  more  saliva  than  usual.  This, 
of  course,  is  not  so ; but  how  it  is  that  they  are  made  to  work  so 
hard  while  we  are  eating  we  do  not  know. 

The  food  of  plants  needs  moistening  just  as  our  food  does* 


THE  STOMACH  AND  THE  TEETH. 


21 


Parched  plants  and  the  parched  mouth  in  fever  compared. 


The  rain  moistens  it  for  the  root,  the  stomach  of  the  plant,  so  that 
it  may  get  nourishment  from  it.  When  you  water  the  dry  earth 
in  a flower-pot,  you  do  for  the  food  of  the  plant  what  the  saliva 
factories  do  for  your  food. 

Sometimes  in  fever,  as  I have  just  told  you,  the  mouth  is  very 
dry.  This  is  partly  because  the  saliva  factories  have  almost  stop- 
ped work ; hardly  any  saliva  comes  through  their  canals  into  the 
mouth.  It  would  be  hard  work  then  to  eat  dry  food.  The  dry 
cracker  must  be  moistened  before  it  can  be  eaten.  This  is  very 
much  like  what  sometimes  happens  to  plants  when  there  has  been 
no  rain  for  a long  time.  There  they  are,  with  their  roots  in  the 
ground,  just  as  they  have  been  all  along.  The  food  is  close  to 
their  little  mouths,  but  it  is  so  dry  that  they  can  not  well  manage 
it.  They  languish,  therefore,  and  perhaps  wilt.  The  dry  earth 
is  to  them  like  the  dry  cracker  to  the  fevered  mouth. 

Questions. — What  is  done  to  the  food  in  the  stomach  ? What  do  the  months  in 
the  stomach  suck  up  ? What  is  done  to  the  food  before  it  goes  into  the  stomach  ? 
What  is  the  use  of  grinding  the  food  ? What  harm  does  it  do  to  eat  fast  ? What 
is  said  about  the  food  of  plants  ? What  else  is  done  to  our  food  while  the  teeth  are 
grinding  it  ? Tell  about  the  working  of  the  saliva  factories.  What  is  said  about 
moistening  the  food  of  plants  ? How  are  plants  sometimes  like  persons  in  a fever  ? 


22 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TEETH. 


The  different  kinds  of  teeth  for  cutting,  and  tearing,  and  grinding. 


CHAPTER  VL 

MORE  ABOUT  THE  TEETH. 

Notice  that  in  the  mill  in  your  mouth  there  are  different  kinds 
of  teeth.  They  are  for  different  purposes.  The  front  teeth  are 
for  cutting  the  food ; the  large  back  teeth  are  for  grinding  it  up 
fine;  the  pointed  teeth,  called  the  stomach  and  eye  teeth,  are  for 
tearing  the  food. 

You  can  see  these  different  kinds  of  teeth  in  different  animals. 
Every  animal  has  such  teeth  as  it  needs  to  divide  its  food.  The 
dog  and  the  cat  eat  meat,  and  they  want  to  tear  this  to  pieces ; 
they  therefore  have  long,  sharp,  tearing  teeth ; so,  too,  have  the 
lion  and  the  tiger,  for  the  same  reason.  Now  look  at  the  cow’s 
mouth : she  has  no  tearing  teeth.  The  grass  that  she  eats  does 
not  need  to  be  torn ; it  needs  to  be  bruised  and  ground  up,  and 
for  this  purpose  she  has  large,  broad,  grinding  teeth.  These  are 
her  back  teeth. 

But  you  notice  that  the  cow  has  a few  different  teeth  in  front ; 
they  are  made  to  cut.  Now  watch  a cow  as  she  eats  grass,  and 
see  how  she  uses  these  two  kinds  of  teeth.  With  the  front  teeth 
she  bites  the  grass — that  is,  she  cuts  it ; then  with  the  end  of  her 
tongue  she  puts  it  back  where  the  grinding  teeth  are,  to  be  ground 
before  it  goes  into  the  stomach.  So  the  cow  has  in  her  mouth 
both  a cutting  machine  and  a mill. 

The  horse  has  these  two  kinds  of  teeth,  as  you  see  represented 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TEETH. 


23 


The  teeth  of  the  horse,  the  cow,  and  the  giraffe. 


in  this  figure,  which  is  the  skull 
of  a horse. 

Now  when  you  eat  an  apple 
you  do  very  much  as  the  cow  or 
the  horse  does  with  the  grass ; 
with  your  front  cutting  teeth  you 
bite  off  a piece  ; then  it  is  pushed  back  where  the  grinders  are,  and 
they  grind  it  up  into  a soft  pulp  before  you  swallow  it. 

The  cow  does  not  always  use  her  cutting  teeth  in  the  way  that 

I have  mentioned.  See 
her  as  she  eats  hay  ; she 
does  not  cut  this  as  she 
does  the  grass.  With 
those  front  cutting  teeth 
she  merely  takes  up  the 
hay,  and  it  is  gradually 
drawn  back  into  the 
mouth,  the  grinders  all 
the  while  keeping  at 
work  on  it.  If  the  hay 
is  in  a rack,  she  pulls  it 
out  with  her  cutting 
teeth.  It  is  the  same 
with  the  horse. 

That  beautiful  and 
singular  animal,  the  gi- 
raffe, which  you  see  here,  has  these  two  kinds  of  teeth.  This  ani- 


24 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TEETH. 


Tearing  teeth.  Stomachs  of  the  cow. 

mal,  when  of  full  size,  is  three  times  the  height  of  a tall  man ; it 
lives  on  the  leaves  of  trees,  which  it  crops  with  its  front  teeth, 
grinding  them  up  with  its  large  back  teeth,  as  the  cow  and  horse 
do  their  hay  and  grass. 

You  notice  that  your  tearing  teeth  are  not  nearly  as  long  and 
powerful  as  these  teeth  are  in  dogs,  cats,  tigers,  etc.  What  is  the 
reason  of  this  ? It  is  because,  although  you  eat  meat  as  they  do, 
you  can,  with  your  knife  and  fork,  cut  up  your  food.  They  do 
not  know  enough  to  use  such  things,  and  so  God  has  given  them 
long,  sharp  teeth  to  tear  their  food  to  pieces. 

The  cow  grinds  the  grass  and  hay  twice.  So  do  the  sheep,  the 
deer,  the  camel,  the  giraffe,  and  many  other  animals.  See  the  cow 
cropping  grass  in  the  pasture ; she  grinds  it  partly  in  her  mouth  as 
she  crops  it,  and  then  stows  it  away  in  a very  large  stomach  that 
she  has  for  the  purpose ; after  a while  she  stops  eating,  and  you 
see  her  standing  or  lying  in  the  cool  shade  chewing  her  cud,  as  we 
say.  That  large  stomach  is  very  full  of  grass  now,  and  this  is  all 
to  be  chewed  over  again.  How  do  you  think  this  is  done?  I 
will  tell  you. 

After  the  grass  is  well  soaked  in  this  large  stomach,  it  passes 
into  another,  for  the  cow  has  more  than  one  stomach — she  has 
four.  In  this  second  stomach  the  grass  is  all  rolled  into  balls. 
This  is  a very  curious  operation.  Now  each  one  of  these  balls 
goes  up  into  the  mouth  to  be  chewed  over  again.  After  it  is  well 
chewed,  down  it  goes  again,  but  it  goes  into  still  another  stomach, 
and  then  up  comes  another  ball  to  take  its  place ; and  so  the 
cow  goes  on  till  all  the  balls  are  chewed.  If  you  look  at  the 


MORE  ABOUT  TIIE  TEETH. 


25 


Chewing  the  cud 


Gizzards  of  birds. 


cow’s  neck  while  she  is  doing  this,  you  can  see  when  the  ball 
goes  up  and  when  it  goes  down.  She  seems  to  have  the  same 
quiet  enjoyment  while  thus  chewing  her  cud  that  the  cat  has 
when,  with  her  eyes  half  open,  she  lies  purring  and  wagging  her 
tail  after  a full  meal. 

Birds,  you  know,  have  no  teeth.  Their  mill  for  grinding  food 
is  not  in  the  mouth,  it  is  in  the  stomach.  What  we  call  the  giz- 
zard is  this  mill.  See  a hen  pick  up  the  corn  that  you  throw  to 
her.  She  swallows  it  very  fast.  Where  do  you  think  it  goes 
to  ? It  goes  into  a bag  called  the  crop.  Here  it  is  soaked,  just 
as  the  grass  is  in  the  large  stomach  of  the  cow.  When  it  becomes 
soft  enough  it  goes  into  the  gizzard.  Here  it  is  crushed  so  as  to 
make  a soft  pulp  by  being  rubbed  between  two  hard  surfaces, 
as  corn  in  a mill  is  ground  between  two  mill-stones.  If  you  cut 
open  the  gizzard  of  a fowl,  you  can  see  how  well  these  surfaces 
are  fitted  to  grind  up  the  corn.  They  do  it  quite  as  well  as  teeth 
would.  Birds  that  live  on  food  that  does  not  need  grinding  do 
not  have  a gizzard,  but  a common  stomach. 

Questions. — What  are  the  different  kinds  of  teeth  that  you  have  in  your  mouth, 
and  what  are  they  for  ? What  is  said  about  the  teeth  of  the  dog,  cat,  etc.  ? What 
is  said  about  the  cow’s  back  teeth  ? What  of  her  front  ones  ? Tell  how  the  cow 
uses  these  two  kinds  of  teeth  in  eating  grass,  and  how  in  eating  hay.  How  do  you 
eat  an  apple?  Tell  about  the  giraffe.  Tell  about  the  cow’s  chewing  her  cud. 
What  is  the  crop  of  a bird  for  ? What  is  the  gizzard  for  ? Do  all  birds  have  giz- 
zards ? 


26 


THE  CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD. 


Arteries  and  veins. 


The  heart. 


The  capillaries. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD. 

You  remember  that  I told  you  in  Part  First  how  the  sap  cir- 
culates in  a plant  or  a tree.  It  goes  up  in  one  set  of  pipes,  and 
goes  down  in  another  set.  Just  so  it  is  with  the  blood  in  your 
body ; it  is  always  in  motion.  There  are  two  different  sets  of 
pipes  for  it  to  go  back  and  forth,  as  there  are  in  the  plant  for  the 
sap ; these  two  sets  of  pipes  are  called  arteries  and  veins. 

The  blood  in  your  body  is  kept  in  motion  by  a pump  that 
works  all  the  time,  night  and  day.  This  pump  is  in  your  chest. 
It  is  the  heart.  Put  your  ear  to  the  chest  of  some  one,  and  you 
can  hear  its  working  as  it  pumps  out  the  blood.  You  can  hear 
it  in  your  own  chest  sometimes  when  it  works  very  hard.  When 
you  have  been  running  very  fast  you  can  hear  it. 

The  heart  pumps  the  blood  out  at  every  beat  into  a large  artery. 
From  this  great  main  pipe  other  pipes  or  arteries  branch  out  every 
where,  and  from  these  branches  other  branches  go  out ; dividing 
in  this  way,  like  the  branches  of  a tree,  the  arteries  at  last  are 
very  small. 

At  the  ends  of  the  arteries  there  are  exceedingly  small  vessels. 
They  are  called  capillaries,  from  the  Latin  word  cajpilla , which 
means  a hair.  They  are  really  smaller  than  the  finest  hairs,  for 
you  can  not  see  them.  When  you  cut  your  finger  you  divide  a 
great  many  of  these  vessels,  and  the  blood  oozes  out  from  them. 


THE  CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD. 


27 


How  arteries  are  guarded  more  than  veins,  and  why. 

When  any  one  blushes,  these  capillaries  in  the  skin  of  the  face 
are  very  full  of  blood,  and  this  causes  the  redness.  It  is  the  blood 
in  these  little  vessels  that  makes  the  lips  red.  These  capillaries 
are  every  where,  so  that  wherever  you  prick  with  a pin  the  blood 
will  ooze  out. 

The  blood  goes  out  from  the  heart  by  one  set  of  pipes,  and 
comes  back  to  the  heart  by  another  set.  It  goes  out  from  the 
heart  by  the  arteries,  as  I have  just  told  you ; it  comes  back  to 
the  heart  by  the  veins. 

The  veins  lie,  some  of  them,  very  deep,  and  some  just  under  the 
skin.  You  see  some  of  them  under  the  skin  in  your  arm  and 
hand.  But  you  can,  not  see  the  arteries  ; they  nearly  all  lie  deep. 
Think  of  the  reason  of  this.  If  an  artery  of  any  size  is  wounded, 
it  is  not  easy  to  stop  its  bleeding,  for  the  heart  is  pumping  blood 
right  through  it ; but  it  is  easy  to  stop  the  bleeding  of  a wounded 
vein,  because  the  blood  is  going  in  it  quietly  back  to  the  heart. 
Now  it  is  because  it  is  so  dangerous  to  wound  arteries  that  God 
has  placed  them  so  deep  that  they  can  not  easily  be  wounded. 

The  maker  of  our  bodies  has  guarded  the  arteries  in  another 
way.  He  has  made  them  much  stronger  than  the  veins.  If  they 
were  not  made  very  strong  they  would  now  and  then  burst.  You 
sometimes  see  the  hose  of  a fire-engine  burst  when  they  are  work- 
ing the  engine  very  hard ; but,  though  your  heart  pumps  away 
sometimes  so  fast  and  hard,  as  when  you  have  been  running,  not 
one  of  all  the  arteries  gives  way ; but  they  would  often  burst  if 
they  were  not  made  stronger  than  the  veins  are. 

The  blood  in  the  arteries  is  red  ; but  the  blood  that  comes  back 


28 


THE  CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD. 


Circulation  of  the  sap.  Pumping  of  the  heart. 

to  the  heart  in  the  veins  is  dark.  This  is  the  reason  that  the 
veins  which  you  see  under  the  skin  look  dark.  I will  tell  you 
more  about  the  dark  and  the  red  blood  in  the  next  chapter. 

You  see  that  the  blood  is  kept  in  motion  in  a different  way  from 
what  the  sap  is.  In  a large  tree  there  is  a great  deal  of  sap  going 
up  in  its  trunk  all  the  time,  but  there  are  no  large  pipes  there 
like  our  arteries  and  veins.  The  sap  goes  up  and  down  in  a mul- 
titude of  very  small  pipes,  and  there  is  no  pump  in  the  tree,  as 
there  is  in  our  bodies,  and  in  the  bodies  of  other  animals.  How 
the  sap  goes  up  to  the  top  of  the  tallest  tree  without  being  pump- 
ed up  we  do  not  know. 

The  heart  is  at  work,  as  I have  told  you,  all  the  time,  while  you 
are  asleep  as  well  as  when  you  are  awake.  If  it  should  stop 
pumping  the  blood,  you  would  die.  How  steadily  it  works,  going 
tick-tack  all  the  while ! How  much  work  it  does  in  a lifetime ! 
It  takes  but  a few  days  for  it  to  beat  a million  of  times  ; and  here 
I will  give  you  something  about  this  work  of  the  heart  that  I wrote 
in  another  book.* 

If  the  heart  could  think,  and  know,  and  speak,  suppose  it  should 
count  up  how  marry  times  it  has  to  beat  before  the  days  of  seven- 
ty years  are  numbered  and  finished.  I think  it  would  feel  a little 
discouraged  at  the  great,  long  work  that  was  before  it,  just  as  some 
people  do  when  they  look  forward  and  think  how  much  they  have 
to  do  ; but  remember  that  the  heart  has  a moment  in  which  it  can 
make  every  beat.  There  is  time  enough  to  do  the  work;  it  is 
not  expected  to  make  two  or  more  beats  at  once,  but  only  one. 

* Every-day  Wonders  ; or,  Facts  in  Physiology.  American  Sunday-school  Union. 


THE  CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD. 


29 


Cheerful  working. 


The  discontented  pendulum. 


As  the  heart  can  not  think,  it  does  not  faint  with  discourage- 
ment, but  goes  right  on  with  its  work,  doing  in  each  moment  the 
duty  of  that  moment ; and  it  would  be  well  if  people  that  can 
think,  whether  children  or  adults,  would  take  a lesson  from  this 
little  busy  worker  in  their  bosoms.  If  one  goes  right  on,  perform- 
ing cheerfully  every  duty  as  it  comes  along,  he  will  do  a great 
deal  in  a lifetime,  and  he  will  do  it  easily  and  pleasantly,  if  he 
does  not  keep  looking  ahead  and  thinking  how  much  he  has  to  do. 

There  is  a pretty  story,  by  Miss  Jane  Taylor,  about  a discon- 
tented pendulum.  The  pendulum  of  a clock  in  a farmer’s  kitch- 
en, in  thinking  over  the  ticking  that  it  had  got  to  do,  became  dis- 
couraged, and  concluded  to  stop.  The  hands  on  the  clock-face 
did  not  like  this,  and  had  a talk  with  the  pendulum  about  it. 
The  pendulum  was,  after  a while,  persuaded  to  begin  its  work 
again,  because  it  saw,  as  the  hands  said,  that  it  always  had  a 
moment  to  do  every  tick  in.  The  pendulum’s  foolish  waste  of 
time  in  complaining  made  the  farmer’s  clock  an  hour  too  slow  in 
the  morning. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  circulation  of  the  sap  and  the  blood  ? What 
is  said  about  the  heart  ? What  about  the  arteries  ? What  are  the  capillaries  ? By 
what  pipes  does  the  blood  come  back  to  the  heart  ? Where  can  you  see  some  of 
the  veins?  Why  are  the  arteries  laid  deeper  than  these  veins?  Why  are  they 
made  stronger  than  veins  ? What  is  the  color  of  the  blood  in  the  arteries  ? What 
is  its  col^or  in  the  veins  ? Is  the  sap  kept  in  motion  in  the  same  way  that  the  blood 
is  ? What  is  said  about  the  work  that  the  heart  does  ? Tell  about  the  pendulum. 


30 


BREATHING. 


The  blood  changed  from  dark  to  red  in  the  lungs. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BREATHING. 

What  do  you  breathe  for?  That  is  plain  enough,  you  will 
say : I can  not  live  without  breathing.  But  why  is  it  that  your 
life  depends  on  your  breathing  ? This  I will  explain  to  you. 

You  remember  that  I told  you  that  the  blood  that  comes  back 
to  the  heart  in  the  veins  is  dark ; it  is  not  good  blood.  It  has 
been  used  while  it  was  in  the  capillaries  in  building  and  repairing 
bone,  and  skin,  and  muscle,  and  nerve,  etc.  It  is  not  fit  to  be 
used  again  so  long  as  it  is  dark  blood.  What  shall  be  done  with 
it  ? It  must  be  made  in  some  way  into  good  red  blood  again. 
Now  the  factory  where  this  is  done  is  the  lungs. 

Just  as  fast  as  the  dark  blood  comes  to  the  heart,  it  sends  it  to 
the  lungs  to  be  made  into  red  blood,  then  it  goes  back  to  the  heart 
to  be  sent  all  over  the  body.  But  how,  you  will  ask,  is  the  dark 
blood  changed  into  good  red  blood  in  the  lungs  ? It  is  done  by 
the  air  that  you  breathe  in ; every  time  that  you  draw  a breath, 
air  goes  down  into  the  lungs  and  changes  the  blood  that  it  finds 
there. 

And  now  you  see  why  it  is  that  you  have  to  breathe  to  keep 
alive.  If  the  air  does  not  go  down  into  the  lungs,  the  dark  blood 
that  is  there  is  not  changed  into  red  blood : it  goes  back  to  the 
heart  dark  blood,  and  is  sent  all  over  the  body ; but  this  dark 
blood  can  not  keep  you  alive : it  is  the  red  blood  that  does  this. 


BREATHING. 


31 


Drowning.  Situation  of  the  heart  and  lungs  of  fishes.  Gills  of  fishes. 

You  see,  then,  how  death  is  caused  in  drowning ; the  air  is  shut 
out  by  the  water,  and  the  blood  is  not  changed  in  the  lungs ; so 
the  blood  goes  back  to  the  heart  dark  instead  of  red,  and  is  sent 
all  over  the  body. 

The  heart  and  the  lungs  fill  up  your  chest.  The  lungs  cover 
up  the  heart,  except  a little  part  of  it  on  the  left  side  : this  is  where 

you  can  feel  its  beating  so  plainly. 
Here  is  a figure  of  the  heart  and 
lungs ; the  lungs  are  drawn  apart, 
so  that  you  can  see  the  heart,  and 
its  large  arteries  and  veins.  You 
see,  marked  a,  the  windpipe  by 
which  the  air  goes  down  into  the 
lungs.  The  lungs  are  light,  spongy 
bodies.  They  are  light  because 
they  are  full  of  little  cells  for  the 
air  to  go  into.  It  is  in  these  cells 
that  the  blood  is  changed  by  the 
air. 

And  now  I will  tell  you  about  the  lungs  of  fishes.  But  perhaps 
you  will  say  that  fishes  do  not  breathe,  and  it  can  not  be  that  they 
have  lungs,  for  they  would  be  of  no  use  to  them.  It  is  true  that 
they  do. not  have  such  lungs  as  we  have;  but  they  have  lungs,  and 
they  really  do  breathe  air.  How  is  this,  you  will  ask,  when  they 
live  in  the  water  ? There  is  a good  deal  of  air  always  mixed  up 
with  water,  and  the  lungs  of  a fish  are  so  made  that  the  air  in  the 
water  can  change  the  blood  in  them.  The  gills  of  a fish  are  its 


32 


BREATHING. 


IIow  fishes  breathe.  Breathing  of  the  lamprey  eel.  The  voice. 

lungs,  and  the  way  that  they  are  used  is  this.  The  fish  takes 
water  into  its  mouth,  and  lets  it  run  out  through  the  gills,  and  so 
the  air  that  is  mixed  with  the  water  changes  the  blood  in  them. 
Our  lungs  are  fitted  to  breathe  air  alone,  but  the  fish  may  be 
said  to  breathe  air  and  water  together.  Air  alone  does  the  fish  no 
good ; he  can  not  live  in  it ; he  must  have  his  air  mixed  with 
water,  or  it  is  of  no  use  to  him. 

Here  is  a picture  of  the  lamprey  eel.  You  see  that  it  has 

a row  of  holes  on  its 
neck:  these  are  open- 
ings that  lead  to  its 
lungs  ; there  are  seven 
on  each  side.  It  is 
from  this  that  it  is 
sometimes  called  sev- 
en-eyes. Insects  have 
such  openings  into  their  lungs.  The  grasshopper  has  twenty-four 
of  them,  in  four  rows.  So  you  see  that  there  are  different  ways  of 
breathing  in  different  animals.  They  do  not  all  breathe  through 
their  mouths  and  noses,  as  we  do. 

You  see  that  the  chief  use  of  breathing  is  to  air  the  blood;  but 
it  is  of  use  to  us  in  another  way.  It  makes  the  voice.  We  could 
not  speak  if  we  did  not  breathe.  The  sound  of  the  voice  is  made 
in  the  top  of  the  neck,  in  what  we  call  Adam’s  apple.  This  is  a 
sort  of  musical  box  at  the  top  of  the  windpipe : in  this  box  there 
are  two  flat  cords  stretching  right  across  it.  Now  when  we  speak 
or  sing,  the  sound  is  made  in  this  way  : the  air,  coming  up  out  ot 


BREATHING. 


33 


The  voices  of  animals.  The  purring  of  the  cat.  The  croaking  of  the  frog. 


the  lungs,  strikes  on  these  cords,  and  makes  them  shake  or  vibrate. 
It  is  just  as  the  vibration  of  the  fiddle-string  makes  a sound  when 
the  bow  is  drawn  over  it.  If  you  look  at  an  JEolian  harp  fixed  in 
a window,  you  can  see  that  the  strings  are  made  to  quiver  by  the 
wind,  and  this  causes  the  sound.  In  the  same  way,  the  wind  that 
is  blown  up  from  your  lungs  makes  the  cords  in  the  Adam’s  apple 
vibrate  ; and  the  chest  may  be  said  to  be  the  bellows  of  that  little 
musical  box  or  organ  that  you  have  in  the  throat. 

Many  animals  have  a musical  box  in  the  throat  similar  to  ours. 
The  lowing  of  the  cow,  the  barking  of  the  dog,  and  the  mewing 
and  squalling  of  the  cat  are  all  done  in  such  a box.  You  perhaps 
have  wondered  how  the  cat  purrs.  This  noise  is  made  in  the 
same  box  where  she  does  her  mewing  and  squalling ; for  if  you 
put  your  finger  on  her  Adam’s  apple  while  she  is  so  quietly  purr- 
ing, you  can  feel  a quivering  motion  there. 

Fishes,  you  know,  have  no  voice.  They  have  no  musical  box. 
If  they  had  they  could  not  use  it,  for  the  only  way  in  which  it 
can  be  used  is  to  blow  air  through  it.  The  frog  can  not  use  his 
so  long  as  he  is  under  water ; he  has  to  stick  his  head  up  out  of 
water  when  he  wants  to  croak. 


Questions. — What  do  you  breathe  for  ? How  is  the  blood  in  the  lungs  changed  ? 
What  would  it  do  if  it  were  not  changed?  How  is  death  caused  in  drowning? 
How  are  the  heart  and  lungs  situated  ? Why  are  the  lungs  so  light  ? What  is  said 
about  the  lungs  of  fishes  ? What  is  said  about  the  breathing  of  the  lamprey  eel  ? 
What  about  the  breathing  of  the  grasshopper  ? How  is  the  breathing  of  use  besides 
changing  the  blood?  Tell  how  the  voice  is  made.  What  is  said  about  the  voices 
of  animals  ? Where  is  the  cat’s  purring  done  ? Why  do  fishes  have  no  musical 
box  ? What  is  said  about  the  croaking  of  frogs  ? 

2 C 


34 


BRAIN  AND  NERVES. 


The  body  the  soul’s  house,  with  a great  deal  of  machinery  in  it. 


CHAPTER  IX.  . 

BRAIN  AND  NERVES. 

I HAVE  told  you  .some  things  in  the  previous  chapters  about 
how  the  body  is  built  and  kept  in  repair.  I have  told  you  that 
the  blood  is  the  building  material  from  which  all  the  parts  of 
the  body  are  made.  The  use  of  food,  you  have  seen,  is  to  make 
the  blood,  and  the  chief  use  of  the  breathing  is  to  keep  the  blood 
in  good  order.  The  heart,  with  its  arteries  and  veins,  keeps  the 
blood  moving  all  about  the  body,  so  that  it  may  be  used  in  build- 
ing and  repairing.  But  what  is  the  body  built  and  kept  in  repair 
for  ? It  is  a house  for  the  mind  or  soul.  The  soul — the  thinking 
part  of  you — so  long  as  it  remains  in  this  world,  dwells  in  the 
body. 

The  body  is  something  more  than  a house  for  the  soul.  The 
head,  where  the  soul  dwells,  is  but  a small  part  of  the  body. 
But  it  uses  all  parts  of  it.  When  the  hand  is  moved,  the  soul 
uses  the  hand  ; when  you  walk,  it  uses  the  legs  and  the  feet ; when 
you  see,  it  uses  the  eyes ; it  uses  the  ears  as  its  instruments  to 
hear  with,  and  the  nose  is  its  smelling  instrument ; and  so  of 
other  parts. 

You  can  think,  then,  of  the  body  as  having  in  it  many  different 
kinds  of  machinery  that  the  mind  or  soul  uses.  And  the  object 
of  eating,  and  drinking,  and  breathing,  and  having  the  blood  cir- 
culate, is  to  make  all  this  machinery  for  the  mind  to  use. 


BRAIN  AND  NERVES. 


35 


How  the  mind  uses  its  machinery.  Nerves  like  telegraphic  wires. 

Let  us  see,  now,  how  it  is  that  the  mind  uses  the  machinery 
of  the  body.  Raise  your  hand.  What  makes  it  go  up  ? It  is 
what  we  call  the  muscles.  They  pull  upon  it  and  raise  it.  But 
what  makes  them  do  it  ? They  do  it  because  you  think  to  have 
them  do  it.  It  is'  your  thinking  mind,  then,  that  makes  them 
raise  the  arm. 

But  the  mind  is  not  there  among  the  muscles ; it  is  in  your 
head.  Now  how  does  the  mind  get  at  the  muscles  to  make  them 
work?  It  does  not  go  out  of  the  brain  to  them,  just  as  a man 
goes  out  of  his  house  among  his  workmen  to  tell  them  what  to  do. 
The  mind  stays  in  the  brain  all  the  time ; but  there  are  white 
cords,  called  nerves,  that  go  from  the  brain  to  all  parts  of  the  body, 
and  the  mind  sends  messages  by  these  to  the  muscles,  and  they 
do  what  the  mind  tells  them  to  do. 

These  nerves  act  like  the  wires  of  a telegraph.  The  brain  is 
the  mind’s  office,  as  we  may  call  it ; here  the  mind  is,  and  it  sends 
out  messages  by  the  nerves  as  messages  are  sent  from  a tele- 
graphic office  by  its  wires.  This  is  done  by  electricity  in  the 
telegraphic  office,  but  how  the  mind  does  it  we  do  not  know. 
When  you  move  your  arm,  something  goes  from  the  brain  along 
the  nerves  to  the  muscles,  and  makes  them  act,  but  what  that 
something  is  we  do  not  know. 

If  the  wires  that  go  out  from  a telegraphic  office  are  broken  off 
in  any  way,  the  man  in  the  office  may  send  out  messages,  but  they 
will  not  go  to  the  place  he  wishes.  He  may  work  his  machine, 
and  send  the  electricity  along  the  wire,  but  it  will  stop  where  the 
break  is.  Just  so,  if  the  nerves  that  go  to  the  muscles  of  your 


36 


BRAIN  AND  NERVES. 


The  two  sets  of  nerves. 


The  brain. 


arm  were  cut,  the  muscles  could  not  receive  any  message  from  the 
mind.  You  might  think  very  hard  about  raising  the  arm,dbut 
the  message  that  your  mind  sends  to  the  muscles  is  stopped  wdiere 
the  nerves  are  cut,  just  as  the  electricity  stops  where  the  break  is 
in  the  wire. 

While  the  mind  sends  out  messages  by  one  set  of  nerves,  it  re- 
ceives messages  by  another  set ; it  receives  them  from  the  senses. 
Just  see  how  this  is.  If  you  put  your  finger  upon  any  thing,  how 
does  the  mind  in  your  brain  know  how  it  feels  ? How  does  it 
know  whether  it  is  hard  or  soft,  rough  or  smooth  ? The  mind 
does  not  go  from  the  head  down  into  the  finger  to  find  out  this ; 
it  knows  it  by  the.  nervous  cords  that  stretch  from  the  brain  to 
the  finger.  When  you  touch  any  thing,  something  goes,  as  quick 
as  a flash,  from  the  finger  along  these  nerves  to  the  brain  where 
the  mind  lives,  and  lets  it  know  what  kind  of  a thing  it  is  that 
your  finger  has  touched.  So,  when  you  smell  any  thing,  it  is  the 
nerves  which  connect  your  nose  with  the  brain  that  tell  the  mind 
what  kind  of  a smell  it  is.  And  when  you  taste  any  thing,  it  is 
the  nerves  of  the  mouth  that  tell  the  mind  in  the  brain  whether  it 
is  bitter,  or  sweet,  or  sour,  etc.  So,  too,  when  you  see  any  thing, 
it  is  the  nerve  which  connects  the  eye  with  the  brain  that  tells  the 
mind  what  it  is  that  you  see. 

The  brain,  in  which  the  mind  lives  and  with  which  it  thinks,  is 
the  softest  part  of  the  body.  You  can  see  what  sort  of  a thing 
your  own  brain  is  by  looking  at  the  brain  of  some  animal  at  the 
meat-market.  You  can  see  it  very  well  in  the  calf’s  head  when 
it  is  prepared  for  cooking  by  being  sawed  in  two.  I have  com- 


BRAIN  AND  NERVES. 


37 


The  nerves  of  the  face  and  head. 


pared  the  nerves  to  the  wires  that  stretch  out  from  the  telegraphic 
office ; but  there  are  only  a few  wires,  while  the  nerves  that  branch 
out  from  the  brain,  all  over  your  body,  can  not  be  counted.  Here 
is  a figure  showing  how  the  nerves  branch  out  over  the  face  and 
head;  there  are  a great  many  of  them,  and  so  there  are  in  all 
other  parts  of  the  body. 


The  nerves,  by  dividing,  spread  out,  so  that  there  are  little 
nerves  every  where.  If  you  prick  yourself  with  a pin  any  where, 


38 


BRAIN  AND  NERVES. 


The  mind  very  busy  in  attending  to  all  its  nerves. 

there  is  a little  nerve  there  that  connects  that  spot  with  the  train, 
and  that  tells  the  mind  about  it.  Now  all  the  nerves  in  all  parts 
bf  the  body  have  their  beginnings  in  the  brain.  In  this  soft  organ 
are  bundled  together,  as  we  may  say,  all  the  ends  of  the  nerves, 
so  that  the  mind  can  use  them.  There  the  mind  is  at  its  post,  just 
like  the  man  in  the  telegraph  office ; and  from  that  great  bundle 
of  the  ends  of  nerves  it  is  constantly  learning  what  is  going  on 
at  the  other  ends  of  them  in  all  parts  of  the  body. 

A great  business  the  mind  has  to  do  in  attending  to  all  these 
ends  of  nerves  in  the  brain ; and  how  strange  it  is  that  it  does  not 
get  confused,  when  so  many  messages  are  coming  to  it  over  its 
wires  from  every  quarter!  It  always  knows  where  a message 
comes  from.  It  never  mistakes  a message  from  a finger  for  one 
from  a toe,  nor  even  a message  from  one  finger  for  one  from  another. 

And  so,  too,  in  sending  out  messages  to  the  muscles,  there  is 
no  confusion.  When  you  want  to  move  a finger,  your  mind  sends 
messages  by  the  nerves  to  the  muscles  that  do  it.  The  message 
always  goes  to  the  right  muscles.  It  does  not  go  sometimes  to 
the  muscles  of  another  finger  by  mistake,  but  you  always  move 
the  finger  which  you  wish  to  move.  And  so  of  all  other  parts. 
Messages  go  from  your  busy  mind  in  the  brain  to  any  part  that 
you  move.  You  can  see  how  wonderful  this  is,  if  you  watch  any 
one  that  is  dancing  or  playing  on  an  instrument,  and  think  how 
the  messages  are  all  the  time  going  by  the  nerves  so  quickly  from 
the  brain  to  the  different  parts  of  the  body.  I shall  tell  you  more 
about  this  in  another  chapter. 

The  man  in  the  telegraph  office  receives  messages  by  the  same 


BRAIN  AND  NERVES. 


39 


Messages  go  from  the  brain  by  some  nerves,  and  come  to  it  by  others. 


wires  by  which  he  sends  them  out.  It  is  not  so,  as  I have  told 
you  before,  with  the  mind’s  wires,  the  nerves ; the  mind  receives 
messages  from  the  senses  by  one  set  of  nerves,  and  sends  messages 
to  the  muscles  by  another  set.  If  you  burn  your  finger,  you  pull 
it  away  from  the  fire.  Now  in  this  case  the  mind  gets  a message 
from  the  finger  by  the  nerves,  and  so  knows  of  the  hurt.  The  mes- 
sage goes  from  the  finger  along  some  nerves  to  their  ends  in  that 
bundle  of  them  in  the  brain ; and  the  mind,  being  there  on  the 
watch,  receives  it.  Now  what  does  the  mind  do  ? Does  it  leave 
the  finger  to  burn  ? No  ; it  sends  a message  at  once  along  some 
other  nerves  to  the  muscles  that  can  pull  the  finger  out  of  harm’s 
way. 

Questions. — What  are  some  of  the  things  that  I have  told  you  in  the  chapters  be- 
fore this  ? What  is  the  body  built  and  kept  in  repair  for  ? In  what  part  of  the 
body  does  the  soul  live  ? Tell  how  it  uses  different  parts  of  the  body.  When  your 
arm  is  raised,  how  is  it  done  ? In  what  way  does  the  mind  make  the  muscles  act  ? 
What  are  the  nerves  ? How  are  they  like  telegraph  wires  ? What  is  it  that  goes 
along  the  wires  ? Do  we  know  what  it  is  that  goes  along  the  nerves  ? Give  the 
comparison  between  cut  nerves  and  broken  wires.  From  what  does  the  mind  re- 
ceive messages  ? Tell  about  touching,  smelling,  tasting,  and  seeing.  What  is  said 
about  the  brain?  What  is  said  about  the  number  of  nerves?  What  is  said  about 
the  mind’s  attending  to  all  its  nerves  ? What  is  said  about  its  making  no  mistakes 
in  its  messages  ? Give  what  is  said  about  the  burning  of  a finger. 


40 


IIOW  THE  MIND  GETS  KNOWLEDGE. 


Knowledge  enters  the  mind  by  the  senses. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOW  THE  MIND  GETS  KNOWLEDGE. 

The  mind,  as  you  learned  in  the  last  chapter,  has  a sort  of  tel- 
egraphic communication  with  all  parts  of  the  body  by  means  of 
the  nerves,  and  it  is  all  the  time  receiving  messages  from  the  fin- 
gers, the  eyes,  the  nose,  the  ears,  the  mouth,  and  other  parts. 
These  are  instruments  which  the  mind  uses  to  get  a knowledge 
of  what  is  around  us.  It  gets  different  kinds  of  knowledge  by  the 
different  instruments.  For  example,  it  learns  whether  a thing  is 
hard  or  soft  by  the  touch  of  the  fingers,  and  it  learns  how  it  smells 
by  the  nose,  how  it  tastes  by  the  mouth,  and  how  it  looks  by  the 
eyes. 

There  is  knowledge,  then,  going  all  the  time  to  the  mind  by  the 
nerves  from  these  instruments.  It  can  not  get  there  in  any  other 
way.  Suppose  the  mind  was  locked  up  in  the  brain,  and  had  no 
nerves  going  out  from  it.  It  could  not  learn  any  thing  about 
what  is  around  it ; there  might  be  eyes,  and  fingers,  and  ears, 
and  a nose,  and  a mouth,  but  these  would  be  of  no  use  to  the 
mind  if  there  were  no  nerves. 

See  how  the  child  learns  about  the  world  of  things  all  around 
him.  When  he  is  first  born  he  does  not  know  any  thing.  He 
does  not  know  how  any  thing  feels,  or  looks,  or  tastes,  or  smells. 
But  with  his  little  nerves  his  mind  gets  messages  from  the  senses, 
and  so  he  learns  every  day  about  the  things  that  are  around  him. 


HOW  TIIE  MIND  GETS  KNOWLEDGE. 


41 


IIow  the  mind  learns  about  things. 


The  deaf  and  the  blind. 


Eyes,  ears,  nose,  mouth,  and  fingers  are  all  the  time  telling  his 
mind  something  through  the  nerves.  They  tell  him  first  about 
those  things  that  are  in  the  room  where  he  is,  and  then,  after  a 
while,  when  he  is  carried  out,  they  tell  him  about  things  that  are 
out  of  doors,  and  thus  he  knows  more  and  more  every  day. 

And  then,  too,  the  mind  thinks  about  what  the  senses  tell  it. 
It  lays  up  what  comes  to  it  by  the  nerves,  and  looks  it  over,  as 
we  may  say,  and  in  this  way  it  learns  a great  deal.  There  is  great 
difference  in  people  in  this  thinking  about  what  the  mind  knows 
by  the  senses.  Some  that  see  and  hear  a great  many  things  do 
not  know  as  much  as  some  that  see  and  hear  few  things.  It  is 
because  they  do  not  think  much  about  what  the  senses  tell  the 
mind. 

You  see,  then,  that  all  that  we  learn  in  this  world  really  comes 
into  the  mind  by  the  way  of  the  nerves  from  the  senses — the 
sight,  the  hearing,  the  touch,  the  smell,  and  the  taste.  The  senses 
are  the  inlets  or  openings  by  which  knowledge  enters,  and  the 
nerves  are  the  passages  by  which  it  gets  to  the  mind  in  the  brain  ; 
and  after  it  gets  there  the  mind  thinks  about  it  and  uses  it  in 
various  ways. 

Some  persons,  you  know,  do  not  have  all  these  inlets  for  knowl- 
edge open.  For  example,  some  are  deaf;  in  them  no  knowledge 
can  get  into  the  mind  by  the  ears.  Some  are  blind,  and  no  knowl- 
edge can  get  into  their  minds  by  the  eyes.  More  knowledge 
comes  into  the  mind  by  the  sight  than  by  the  hearing ; it  is  there- 
fore a greater  misfortune  to  be  blind  than  it  is  to  be  deaf. 

It  is  astonishing  to  see  how  much  the  deaf  and  the  blind  can 


42 


HOW  THE  MIND  GETS  KNOWLEDGE. 


Deaf  and  dumb.  How  the  blind  read.  Story  of  Laura  Bridgman. 


learn  if  they  try.  If  the  mind  is  wide  awake  and  ready  to  learn, 
it  can  get  a great  deal  of  knowledge  even  when  one  of  the  open- 
ings for  it  is  shut  up.  It  can  use  the  knowledge  gained  by  the 
other  senses  in  such  a way  as  to  make  up  very  much  for  the  loss. 
A lazy  mind,  with  all  the  senses  letting  in  knowledge,  will  not 
know  as  much  as  a busy  mind  will  with  one  of  the  senses  shut 
up.  In  the  deaf  and  dumb  the  eyes  have  to  answer  for  both  eyes 
and  ears  in  getting  knowledge.  They  have  to  do  double  duty; 
and  they  do  it  very  well  if  the  mind  is  only  wide  awake  and  at- 
tentive to  all  that  it  can  learn  by  the  eyes.  In  the  blind  the  ears 
have  to  do  a great  deal  more  than  in  those  that  can  see.  The 
fingers  also  of  the  blind  are  very  busy,  for  they  learn  very  much 
about  what  is  around  them  by  the  sense  of  feeling.  There  are 
books  now  made  for  their  use  with  raised  letters.  By  passing 
their  fingers  over  them,  they  read  just  as  you  do  by  looking  at 
printed  letters. 

And  now  I will  tell  you  about  a girl  that  has  had  to  get  all  her 
knowledge  with  only  one  of  the  senses,  the  sense  of  feeling.  Her 
name  is  Laura  Bridgman.  When  she  was  in  her  second  year 
she  became  very  sick.  Her  sickness  lasted  a very  long  time. 
After  she  got  well  it  was  found  that  she  was  blind  and  deaf,  and 
that  she  had  no  taste  nor  smell ; only  one  of  the  five  inlets  for 
knowledge  was  open.  All  that  could  come  into  her  mind  was 
what  could  be  learned  by  the  touch  alone.  But  she  had  an  act- 
ive mind,  and  so  she  went  round  feeling  of  every  thing,  to  find 
out  all  she  could  about  things. 

The  only  way  that  she  could  know  people  was  by  feeling  them. 


HOW  THE  MIND  GETS  KNOWLEDGE. 


43 


Laura  in  the  asylum. 

Her  mother  was  very  kind  to  her,  and  the  little  helpless  girl  liked 
to  be  with  her  all  the  time.  She  followed  her  about  the  house,  and 
tried  to  do  things  just  as  her  mother  did  them.  She  would  feel  of 
her  mother’s  arms  and  hands  while  she  was  doing  things,  that  she 
might  find  out  how  she  did  them.  In  this  way  she  learned  to  knit, 
which  was  a great  comfort  to  her,  for  she  did  not  like  to  be  idle. 

A kind  physician,  who  had  charge  of  an  asylum  for  the  blind 
in  Boston,  heard  about  Laura.  He  was  much  interested  for  the 
helpless  child,  and  went  to  see  her.  He  persuaded  her  mother  to 
let  her  come  to  the  asylum.  Laura  did  not  feel  at  home  at  first, 
but,  as  they  were  all  kind  to  her  in  the  asylum,  she  soon  liked  it 
Very  much. 

She  now  began  to  learn  many  things,  and  I will  tell  you  a lit- 
tle how  the  teacher  managed  with  her.  He  put  into  her  hands 
different  things  — spoons,  keys,  books,  etc.  Each  article  had  a 
label  on  it.  The  letters  on  the  labels  were  raised  letters,  such  as 
are  used  in  teaching  the  blind.  She  would  feel  them  all  over  with 
the  tips  of  her  little  fingers,  her  busy  mind  all  the  time  thinking 
about  how  they  felt.  Then  the  labels  and  the  things  were  put 
before  her,  but  separated  from  each  other.  After  a little  trying, 
fehe  learned  to  put  the  labels  on  the  things  right. 

All  this  time  she  did  not  know  that  these  labels  had  the  names 
of  the  articles  on  them.  If  she  were  blind  only,  she  would  have 
known  this  at  once,  for  she  could  have  been  told  of  it ; but  after  a 
while  she  in  some  way  got  this  idea  into  her  mind.  She  was  de- 
lighted, for  she  had  now  found  a new  way  of  learning  things,  and 
of  telling  about  things  to  others. 


44 


HOW  THE  MIND  GETS  KNOWLEDGE. 


How  Laura  learned  to  read  and  to  converse. 


And  now  Laura  went  on  fast  with  her  learning.  The  letters  were 
separated,  and  she  would  put  them  together  so  as  to  spell  spoon, 
key,  etc.  This  was  a great  amusement  to  her.  Sometimes,  when 
she  carelessly  placed  the  letters  wrong,  she  would  playfully  strike 
her  right  hand  with  her  left  one,  and  then,  when  the  letters  were 
placed  right,  she  would  pat  her  head,  as  the  teacher  was  apt  to  do 
when  he  was  pleased  with  any  thing  that  she  had  done. 

After  a while  the  teacher  taught  Laura  to  use  her  fingers  in 
talking,  as  you,  perhaps,  have  seen  the  deaf  and  dumb  do.  She 
soon  learned  to  make  all  the  letters  in  this  finger-alphabet,  which 
you  can  see  on  page  98  ; and  now  she  could  talk  with  people  quite 
easily,  if  they  happened  to  know  this  alphabet.  When  she  had 
any  thing  to  say,  she  would  make  the  letters  with  the  fingers, 
while  the  person  to  whom  she  was  talking  would  look  at  her. 
But  how  do  you  think  that  she  managed  when  this  person  said 
any  thing  to  her  with  his  fingers  ? She  could  not  see  his  fingers, 
but  she  could  feel  them,  and  this  was  the  way  in  which  she  knew 
what  was  said  to  her ; she  would  carefully,  but  rapidly,  pass  her 
fingers  over  his  as  fast  as  he  made  the  letters.  It  was  surprising 
to  see  how  quickly  the  touch  of  her  nimble  fingers  would  tell  her 
mind  what  letter  was  made,  and  how  fast  she  could  converse  with 
persons  in  this  way. 

Laura  learned  much  more  at  the  asylum  than  we  should  sup- 
pose she  could  with  only  her  one  sense  of  touch.  Some  persons 
with  the  whole  five  senses  do  not  know  as  much  as  she  does. 
She  even  learned  to  write ; and  writing  and  knitting  were  very 
pleasant  employments  to  her.  By  writing  she  could  put  the 


HOW  THE  MIND  GETS  KNOWLEDGE. 


45 


Laura’s  industry. 


Her  fun. 


A visit  from  her  mother. 


thoughts  of  her  busy  mind  on  paper,  so  that  others  might  read 
them  ; and  while  she  was  sitting  alone  thinking,  she  liked  to  make 
her  nimble  fingers  useful  in  knitting.  It  was  a great  satisfaction 
to  her  that,  though  she  had  but  one  sense,  she  could  do  some- 
thing useful.  What  a pity  it  is  that  many  children,  and  many 
adults  too,  do  not  have  more  of  this  feeling  than  they  seem  to 
have  ! The  example  of  Laura  teaches  a good  lesson  to  all  idlers. 

Though  Laura  could  never  see  beautiful  things,  nor  hear  pleas- 
ant sounds,  as  you  do  all  the  time,  she  was  very  cheerful,  and 
sometimes  she  was  very  funny.  She  liked  to  play  with  her  doll ; 
and  as  the  blind  children  in  the  asylum  had  ribbons  tied  over 
their  sightless  eyes,  she  tied  one  over  her  doll’s  eyes.  One  day 
she  was  in  her  play  taking  care  of  her  doll  as  one  would  of  a sick 
child.  She  made  believe  give  it  medicine,  and  put  a hot  bottle 
to  its  feet ; and  when  some  one  proposed  to  her  to  put  a blister 
on  its  back,  she  was  so  much  amused  that  she  laughed  and  clap- 
ped her  hands. 

After  Laura  had  been  some  time  at  the  asylum  her  mother 
came  to  see  her.  She  did  not  know  her  mother  at  first,  but 
thought  that  she  was  some  stranger.  She  held  back  and  would 
not  come  near.  Her  mother  handed  her  a string  of  beads  which 
she  used  to  wear  when  at  home.  She  took  them,  and  as  soon  as 
she  felt  them  she  knew  what  beads  they  were.  She  put  them 
on  her  neck,  and,  showing  great  joy,  said  with  her  finger-language 
that  she  knew  these  came  from  home.  Something  else  from  home 
was  given  her.  She  now  drew  near,  and  her  mother  kissed  her. 
The  moment  that  her  mother’s  lips  touched  her  she  knew  who  it 


46 


HOW  THE  MIND  GETS  KNOWLEDGE. 


How  Laura  knew  her  mother. 

was,  for  that  kiss  was  just  like  the  many  kisses  her  loving  mother 
used  to  give  her.  She  remembered  how  those  lips  used  to  feel, 
and  they  had  the  same  feeling  now ; and  now  she  clung  to  her 
mother,  and  put  her  head  into  her  bosom.  They  were  both  very 
happy.  When  her  mother  left  her  Laura  felt  sad  indeed.  She 
wanted  to  go  with  her,  but  she  knew  that  it  was  best  for  her  to 
stay  in  the  asylum,  where  she  could  learn  so  much. 

Questions. — What  are  the  instruments  by  which  the  mind  gets  its  knowledge? 
How  does  the  knowledge  get  to  the  mind  ? What  good  would  the  instruments  do 
if  there  were  no  nerves  ? Tell  how  the  child,  when  first  born,  learns  about  things 
around  him.  What  is  said  about  thinking  of  what  is  learned  by  the  senses  ? Why 
may  the  senses  be  called  the  inlets  of  knowledge  ? Tell  about  the  deaf  and  the 
blind.  Why  is  it  worse  to  be  blind  than  it  is  to  be  deaf?  What  is  said  about  the 
amount  of  knowledge  that  the  blind  and  the  deaf  can  obtain?  What  is  said  about 
the  sense  of  sight  in  the  deaf  and  dumb  ? What  senses  do  the  blind  chiefly  use  in 
getting  knowledge?  How  do  they  read?  How  many  of  the  senses  did  Laura 
Bridgman  lose  ? How  did  she  learn  about  things  before  she  went  to  the  asylum  ? 
Tell  how  she  learned  after  she  went  there.  How  did  she  talk  with  people?  Tell 
about  her  industry.  What  is  said  of  her  cheerfulness  ? What  of  her  fun  ? Tell 
About  her  mother’s  visit. 


SEEING. 


47 


The  eye  a beautiful  instrument. 


Its  window  and  dark  chamber. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

SEEING. 

The  senses  by  which  the  mind  obtains  most  of  its  knowledge 
are  the  sight  and  the  hearing.  In  this  chapter  we  will  look  at 
the  organ  or  instrument  of  sight. 

The  eye  is  a very  beautiful  instrument.  It  is  very  nicely  made, 
and  it  has  a great  many  different  parts.  You  are  not  old  enough 
yet  to  understand  all  about  these  parts,  but  there  are  some  things 
about  them  that  I can  explain  to  you. 

What  we  call  the  white  of  the  eye  is  a strong,  firm  sort  of  bag. 
It  is  filled  mostly  with  a jelly-like  substance.  It  is  this  that 
makes  it  a firm  ball.  If  it  were  empty  it  would  be  like  a bag.  Into 
the  open  part  of  this,  in  front,  is  fitted  a clear  window.  The  light 
goes  in  here.  It  can  not  get  in  at  the  sides  of  the  eyeball,  through 
the  thick  white  of  the  eye. 

Through  this  very  clear  window  you  can  look  into  the  bag  or 
ball  of  the  eye.  You  can  not  look  through  the  jelly-like  substance 
that  is  there,  and  see  the  very  back  of  the  inside  of  the  eyeball ; 
but  it  is  like  looking  into  a dark  chamber.  The  reason  that  it  is 
so  dark  is,  that  it  is  lined  with  something  almost  black.  If  this 
were  not  so,  the  eyes  would  be  dazzled  with  the  light  that  com- 
monly goes  into  them,  just  as  they  now  are  when  the  light  is  very 
bright  indeed. 

Inside  of  the  front  window  of  the  eye  that  I have  told  you  about 


48 


SEEING. 


The  iris  the  curtain  in  the  eye.  The  pupil  a round  opening  in  it. 

there  is  a fluid  as  clear  as  water.  In  this  fluid  you  see  a sort  of 
curtain  with  a round  opening  in  it.  This  opening  is  called  the 
pupil  of  the  eye.  It  is  not  always  of  the  same  size.  When  there 
is  a very  bright  light,  it  is  small ; but  when  the  light  is  dim,  it  is 
large,  for  then  you  want  all  the  light  that  you  can  get  in  that  dark 
chamber  where  the  jelly  is.  You  can  see  the  pupil  change  in  its 
size  if  you  look  into  the  eye  of  any  one  while  you  bring  a light 
very  near,  and  then  move  it  off*  quickly. 

The  curtain  in  which  this  opening  is  we  call  the  iris.  It  is  cir- 
cular. Its  outer  edge  is  fastened  all  round  to  the  inside  of  the  eye- 
ball. The  watery  fluid,  that  I told  you  is  inside  of  the  window 
of  the  eye,  is  on  both  sides  of  this  curtain.  It  would  not  do  to 
have  the  jelly  here,  for  the  curtain  would  not  move  easily  in  that 
in  changing  the  size  of  its  opening. 

The  iris  is,  you  know,  of  different  colors  in  different  persons. 
When  it  is  blue,  we  say  that  the  person  has  a blue  eye ; and  if  it 
is  quite  dark,  we  say  that  he  has  a black  eye ; and  so  of  other 
colors.  This  curtain  makes  the  eye  very  beautiful ; but  its  chief 
use  is,  as  you  see,  to  regulate  the  quantity  of  light  that  goes  into 
the  eye.  When  there  is  a great  deal  of  light,  the  curtain  is  drawn 
in  such  a way  as  to  have  the  round  opening  very  small ; but  when 
there  is  little  light,  it  is  drawn  so  as  to  make  this  opening  large. 
This  curtain  must  be  made  very  nicely,  or  it  would  be  puckered 
when  the  opening  in  it  is  changed  in  this  way.  No  man  could 
make  a curtain  of  this  shape,  and  have  it  work  like  this  : it  would 
be  a very  awkward  thing  if  he  should  undertake  it.  He  could  not 
possibly  make  it  so  that  the  round  opening  in  it  could  be  made 


SEEING. 


49 


The  pupil  in  the  eye  of  the  cat  and  the  horse. 


smaller  and  larger  without  wrinkling.  But  look  at  this  beautiful 
curtain  in  the  eye,  and  see  how  smooth  it  is,  and  how  perfectly 
round  its  edge  keeps,  as  the  size  of  the  pupil  is  changed.  Did 
you  ever  see  any  thing  work  more  prettily  and  easily  than  this, 
does  ? 

The  opening  in  the  curtain  is  different  in  different  animals.  In 


the  cat  it  is  of  this  shape 


in  the  horse  it  is  shaped  in  this 


way 


You  can  see  the  difference  in  the  size 


of  the  cat’s  pupil  in  different  lights : if  you  look  at  her  eyes  in  a 
bright  sunlight,  and  then  again  in  the  evening,  you  will  see  that 
it  is  very  much  larger  in  the  evening  than  it  is  in  the  day.  When 


the  sun  is  very  bright,  her  pupil  is  a mere  chink,  like  this 


but 


in  the  evening  it  is  very  wide  open,  shaped  in  this  way 

But  I have  not  yet  told  you  how  you  see.  It  is  done  in  this 
way.  The  light  that  goes  in  through  the  pupil  makes  an  image' 
or  picture  there  of  every  thing  that  is  before  the  eye.  It  makes 
the  image  on  a very  thin  sheet  spread*  out  on  the  back  part  of  the 
^ D 


50 


SEEING. 


The  images  in  the  eye’s  dark  chamber.  Why  we  have  two  eyes. 

dark  chamber  where  the  jelly  is  ; it  is  just  as  light  makes  images 
of  things  in  a looking-glass,  or  in  the  smooth,  still  water ; the  only 
difference  is,  that  the  image  or  picture  in  the  eye  is  very  small. 
When  you  see  a tree  pictured  in  the  still  water,  the  picture  is  as 
large  as  the  tree  itself ; but  the  picture  that  the  light  makes  of  the 
tree  in  that  dark  chamber  of  your  eye  is  very  small.  The  picture 
in  your  eye  of  a whole  landscape,  with  all  its  trees,  houses,  hills, 
etc.,  does  not  cover  over  a space  larger  than  a ten  cent  piece. 

But  how  does  the  mind  in  the  brain  know  any  thing  about  these 
pictures  ? It  knows  about  them  by  means  of  a nerve,  that  goes 
from  the  brain  to  the  eye,  and  is  spread  out  where  the  pictures  or 
images  are  made.  It  would  do  no  good  to  have  the  pictures  made 
in  the  eye,  if  the  nerve  could  not  tell  the  mind  about  them.  The 
eye  might  be  perfect,  and  yet  there  might  not  be  any  seeing.  It 
is  as  necessary  to  have  the  nerve  in  good  order  as  it  is  the  eye  it- 
self. It  is  not  your  eye  that  sees  ; it  is  your  mind,  and  in  seeing 
it  uses  both  the  nerve  and  the  eye. 

You  have  two  eyes.  When  you  look  at  one  thing,  say  a house, 
there  is  a picture  of  the  house  in  both  eyes.  The  two  nerves  tell 
the  mind  in  the  brain  about  the  two  pictures.  How  is  this  ? 
Why  does  not  the  mind  see  two  houses  ? It  is  because  the  pic- 
tures in  the  two  eyes  are  exactly  alike,  and  both  nerves,  therefore, 
tell  exactly  the  same  story ; if  they  did  not,  then  the  mind  would 
see  two  houses  ; that  is,  it  would  see  double,  as  it  is  called.  You 
can  see  double  by  pressing  one  eye  sidewise  while  you  let  the  other 
go  free. 

The  eyes  of  insects  are  very  curious.  You  remember  what  1 


SEEING. 


51 


The  eyes  of  insects. 


told  you  about  compound  flowers.  Now,  as  in  a compound  flow- 
er there  are  a great  many  flowers  together,  so  it  is  with  the  eyes 
of  insects.  The  eye  of  a common  fly  is  made  up  of  thousands  of 
eyes  ; so,  when  he  looks  at  any  thing,  there  are  thousands  of  very 
little  images  of  it  made  by  the  light  in  these  eyes,  and  the  nerves 
tell  the  fly’s  mind,  in  his  little  brain,  about  them.  These  eyes  are 
so  exceedingly  small  that  you  can  not  see  them  without  a micro- 
scope. How  fine,  then,  must  be  the  nerves  that  go  from  them  to 
the  fly’s  brain ! Your  eye  is  a very  wonderful  instrument,  but 
God  has  put  thousands  of  them  just  as  wonderful  into  the  head 
of  the  fly  that  buzzes  about  you.  It  is  as  easy  for  him  to  make 
little  eyes  as  large  ones,  and  he  can  make  a multitude  as  easily 
as  one. 

Questions. — By  what  senses  does  the  mind  learn  the  most  ? What  is  the  white 
of  the  eye  ? What  is  it  filled  with  ? What  is  there  in  the  front  part  of  the  eye  ? 
What  is  said  about  the  dark  chamber  of  the  eyeball  ? What  is  just  inside  of  the 
front  window  of  the  eye  ? What  is  the  pupil  of  the  eye  ? What  is  the  iris  ? How 
is  it  arranged  ? What  is  said  of  its  color  ? What  is  its  chief  use  ? Tell  about 
this.  What  is  said  about  its  being  made  nicely  ? What  is  said  about  the  shape  of 
its  opening  in  different  animals  ? What  is  said  about  the  cat’s  pupil  in  different 
lights  ? Tell  about  the  images  made  in  the  eye.  What  is  said  about  the  nerve  of 
the  eye  ? How  is  it  that,  with  two  eyes,  you  do  not  see  double  ? Why  do  you  have 
two  eyes  ? What  is  said  about  the  eyes  of  insects  ? 


52 


HOW  THE  EYE  IS  GUARDED. 


The  eye  seldom  hurt. 


How  it  is  guarded  with  the  bones  around  it. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HOW  THE  EYE  IS  GUARDED. 

The  eye,  yon  know,  is  a very  tender  organ.  It  is  therefore 
guarded  thoroughly,  and  it  is  really  very  seldom  hurt.  But  no- 
tice that  it  is  just  where  it  would  be  likely  to  be  hurt  if  it  were 
not  thus  guarded.  It  is  right  in  the  front  part  of  the  head.  It 
must  be  there  for  the  mind  to  use  it  in  seeing.  And  it  is  much 
of  the  time  open.  You  would  suppose,  then,  that  it  must  very 
often  be  struck  and  hit  by  things  that  are  thrown  about ; but  it  is 
really  very  seldom  hit  so  as  to  be  hurt  much. 

The  parts  about  the  eye  are  often  injured,  but  the  eye  itself 
generally  escapes.  We  often  see  the  eyelids  and  the  cheek  black 
and  blue  from  a blow,  and  yet  the  tender  and  delicate  eye  is  as 
sound  as  ever.  People  say,  in  such  cases,  that  the  eye  is  black 
and  blue,  but  this  is  not  so ; the  injury  is  all  on  the  outside,  and 
does  not  go  into  the  eye. 

Now  let  us  see  in  what  ways  the  eye  is  guarded.  It  is  in  a 
deep  bony  socket.  There  is  bone  all  around  it  except  in  front. 
Then,  too,  see  how  the  bones  stand  out  all  around  it.  The  bone 
of  the  forehead  juts  over  it.  Below  and  to  the  outside  stands  out 
the  cheek  bone,  and  the  nose  is  its  wall  on  the  inside.  Now  you 
can  see  that  a blow  with  a stick  would  be  very  likely  to  strike 
upon  some  of  these  walls  of  bone,  and  the  eye  would  then  escape. 
They  are  real  walls  of  defense  to  the  eye.  A stick  can  not  hit 


HOW  THE  EYE  IS  GUARDED. 


53 


The  winking  muscle.  * The  eye’s  cushion  of  fat. 

the  eye  itself  unless  it  goes  with  its  end  pointed  to  the  eye.  It 
must  go  in  this  way  to  avoid  striking  on  these  walls,  or  para- 
pets of  bone,  by  which  the  eye  is  surrounded. 

But  if  the  stick  gets  by  these  bony  walls,  it  may  not  hurt  the 
eye,  after  all.  Perhaps  you  never  thought  what  use  there  is  in 
being  able  to  wink  so  quickly.  See  what  winking  does.  It  shuts 
the  eyelids  over  the  eye,  so  that  nothing  can  get  into  it  unless  it 
is  something  sharp  enough  to  pierce  through  the  lids.  And  a blow 
will  not  hurt  the  eye,  if  the  lids  are  closed,  unless  it  is  hard  enough 
to  bruise  it  through  the  lids. 

How  quick  is  the  working  of  that  winking  muscle ! The  mo- 
ment that  the  eye  sees  any  thing  coming  toward  it  that  may  in- 
jure it,  this  muscle  shuts  up  the  eye  out  of  sight  as  quick  as  a 
flash.  It  hardly  seems  as  if  there  was  time  for  a message  to  go 
from  the  eye  to  the  brain,  and  then  another  back  from  the  brain 
to  that  muscle  in  the  lids.t  But  all  this  happens.  The  nerve  of 
the  eye  tells  the  mind  of  the  danger,  and  the  mind  sends  a mes- 
sage to  the  winking  muscle.  This  is  done  so  quickly  that  when- 
ever people  speak  of  any  thing  as  being  done  very  quickly,  they 
are  very  apt  to  say  that  it  was  done  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
This  expression  is  used  in  the  Bible  in  this  way. 

But  I have  not  told  you  all  that  this  winking  muscle  does.  It 
does  something  more  than  shut  the  eye  in.  It  pushes  it  back  in 
its  socket,  so  that  it  is  a little  farther  out  of  the  way  of  a blow. 
And  it  does  not  push  it  right  against  the  hard  bone  of  the  socket : 
there  is  a soft  cushion  of  fat  for  it  to  press  the  eye  against. 

And  this  is  not  all.  When  the  eye  sees  a blow  coming,  this 


54 


HOW  THE  EYE  IS  GUARDED. 


The  winking  muscles  raise  cushions  over  the  eye  to  defend  it. 

.muscle  acts  so  strongly  that  it  wrinkles  the  skin  of  the  eyelids, 

and  pulls  down  the  eyebrow,  and 
draws  up  the  cheek,  as  you  see 
here.  Now  see  how  this  guards 
the  eye.  The  cheek  and  the  eye- 
brow are  brought  so  near  together 
that  there  is  but  little  room  for  the 
blow  to  get  at  the  eye  ; and  even  if 
it  does,  the  wrinkled  skin  of  the 
lids  makes  a cushion  over  it  that 
breaks  the  force  of  the  blow.  You 
can  see  that  the  blow  would  be 
much  more  apt  to  do  harm  if  the 
winking  muscle  merely  brought  the  lids  together.  As  it  is,  a blow 
commonly  hits  on  the  eyebrow  or  cheek,  or  both,  while  the  eye  is 
safe,  shut  up  and  pushed  back  in  its  cavern  upon  its  cushion  of 
fat.  To  see  how  much  the  bringing  together  of  the  cheek  and 
eyebrow  defends  the  eye,  you  must  look  at  some  one  as  he  forci- 
bly closes  the  eye,  as  represented  in  the  figure.  And  if,  at  the 
same  time,  you  put  your  finger  on  the  parts,  you  will  see  how  the 
cushions  which  all  this  wrinkling  makes  over  the  eye  and  about 
its  socket  defend  it  from  harm. 

So  you  see  that  not  only  is  the  eye  guarded  by  parapets  of 
bone,  but  the  busy  winking  muscle  raises  up  cushions  on  them 
whenever  the  eye  sees  a blow  coming.  These  cushions  often  save 
the  bone  from  being  cracked,  and  in  this  way  also  keep  the  eye 
from  being  hurt. 


HOW  TIIE  EYE  IS  GUARDED. 


55 


The  eyebrows.  The  eyelashes.  How  the  tears  defend  the  eye. 

Of  what  use  do  you  think  the  hairs  on  the  eyebrows  are? 
They  are  for  good  looks,  you  will  say.  But  they  are  for  some- 
thing more  than  this ; they  are  a defense  to  the  eye.  How  this 
is  I will  explain  to  you.  You  know  what  the  eaves  of  a house 
are  for  when  there  is  no  trough  to  the  roof ; they  keep  the  rain 
from  running  down  from  the  roof  on  the  sides  of  the  house.  They 
make  it  drop  off  to  the  ground  a little  way  from  the  house.  Just 
so  the  hairy  eyebrows  make  the  sweat  of  the  forehead  drop  off 
upon  the  cheek,  instead  of  running  down  into  the  eye.  The  eye- 
brows, then,  are  the  eaves  of  the  roof  of  the  eye's  house. 

Perhaps  you  will  ask  what  hurt  the  sweat  would  do  if  it  should 
run  down  into  the  eye.  It  would  be  very  disagreeable ; and,  be- 
sides this,  it  would  irritate  the  eye  and  make  it  red.  The  eye 
would  become  inflamed. 

The  eyelashes,  too,  besides  making  the  eye  look  well,  are  a de- 
fense to  it.  You  know  that  there  are  often  small  things  flying 
about  in  the  air  which  we  are  not  apt  to  see.  If  these  fly  against 
the  eye,  they  generally  hit  against  the  eyelashes,  and  so  are  pre- 
vented from  going  into  the  eye. 

The  tears,  also,  are  a defense  to  the  eye.  If  any  thing  happens 
to  get  by  the  eyelashes  into  the  eye,  how  quick  the  tears  flow  to 
wash  it  out ! Commonly  the  gland,  or  tear  factory,  only  makes 
enough  tears  to  keep  the  eye  a little  moist ; but  as  soon  as  any 
thing  gets  into  the  eye  and  irritates  it,  the  tear  factory  sets  to 
work  briskly,  and  sends  down  the  tears  abundantly.  At  the  same 
time,  the  winking  muscle  keeps  moving  the  lids,  and  generally 
what  is  in  the  eye  is  soon  washed  out. 


56 


HOW  THE  EYE  IS  GUARDED. 


The  sink-drain  of  the  eye. 


In  weeping  the  tears  overflow  their  banks. 


Tears  are  flowing  into  the  eye  all  the  time.  If  they  did  not, 
the  eyeball  and  the  inside  of  the  lids  would  become  dry,  and  they 
would  not  move  easily  on  each  other.  You  would  have  to  keep 
wetting  them  with  water  to  prevent  them  from  rubbing.  The 
tear  factory,  which  is  just  above  the  eye,  continually  sends  down, 
through  some  little  tubes  or  ducts,  just  enough  tears  to  make  the 
motion  of  the  eye  and  the  lids  easy. 

But  you  will  ask  where  the  tears  that  are  made  go.  They 
do  not  commonly  run  out  over  the  lids,  and  they  must  go  some- 
where. I will  tell  you  about  this.  If  you  look  at  the  eyelids  of 
any  one,  you  can  see  in  each  lid  a little  hole  at  the  end  of  the  edge 
toward  the  nose.  The  tears  go  into  these  holes,  and  down  through 
a duct  that  ends  in  the  nose.  This  duct  may  be  called  the  sink- 
drain  of  the  eye,  for  the  tears,  after  washing  the  eye,  run  off 
through  it.  The  two  little  holes  or  mouths  in  the  lids  commonly 
take  in  all  the  tears  as  fast  as  they  come  to  them ; but  when  we 
cry,  the  tear  factory  makes  tears  so  fast  that  these  mouths  can 
not  take  them  all  in.  The  tears,  therefore,  overflow  their  banks 
— the  lids — and  run  down  on  the  cheek. 

Questions. — Is  the  eye  in  a very  exposed  situation?  Why  is  it  seldom  much 
hurt  ? Are  the  parts  about  it  often  hurt  ? Tell  how  the  bones  about  the  eye  de- 
fend it.  Of  what  use  is  winking  ? What  is  said  about  the  quickness  with  which  it 
is  done  ? What  else  does  the  winking  muscle  do  besides  shutting  the  eye  ? What 
does  it  push  the  eye  back  upon  ? What  else  does  this  muscle  do  besides  what  has 
been  mentioned  ? How  does  this  defend  the  eye  ? On  what  does  a blow  aimed  at 
the  eye  commonly  hit  ? Of  what  use  are  the  hairs  on  the  eyebrows  ? What  harm 
would  the  sweat  do  if  it  ran  down  into  the  eye  ? Of  what  use  are  the  eyelashes  ? 
In  what  ways  do  the  tears  prevent  the  eyes  from  being  injured?  Where  do  the 
tears  go  to  from  the  eye  ? What  happens  when  one  cries  ? 


HEARING. 


57 


What  sound  is. 


The  experiment  of  scratching  on  a log  with  a pin. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HEARING. 

What  is  sound  ? If  you  look  at  a large  bell  when  it  is  struck, 
you  can  see  a quivering  or  shaking  in  it.  If  you  put  your  hand 
on  it,  you  can  feel  the  quivering.  It  is  this  that  makes  the  sound 
that  we  hear.  You  can  see  the  same  thing  in  the  strings  of  a 
piano  when  they  are  struck,  and  in  the  strings  of  a violin  as  the 
bow  is  drawn  over  them.  The  wind  makes  the  music  on  the 
iEolian  harp  in  the  window  by  shaking  its  strings.  And  when 
you  speak  or  sing,  the  sound  is  made,  as  I have  told  you  before, 
by  the  quivering  of  two  flat  cords  in  your  throat. 

But  when  a bell  is  struck,  how  does  the  sound  get  to  our  ears  ? 
The  quivering  or  vibration,  as  it  is  called,  of  the  bell  makes  a vi- 
bration in  the  air,  and  this  vibration  is  continued  along  through 
the  air  to  our  ears. 

The  vibration  can  go  through  other  things  besides  the  air.  It 
will  go  through  something  solid  better  than  it  will  through  air. 
Put  your  ear  at  the  end  of  a long  log,  and  let  some  one  scratch 
with  a pin  on  the  other  end,  you  can  hear  it  very  plainly.  The 
vibration  made  by  the  pin  travels  through  the  whole  length  of  the 
log  to  your  ear ; but  if  you  take  away  your  ear  from  the  log  you 
can  not  hear  it,  for  the  vibration  or  sound  can  not  come  to  you  so 
far  through  the  air. 

The  nearer  you  are  to  where  the  sound  is  made,  the  louder  it  is  ; 


58 


HEARING. 


Dying  away  of  sound.  Speaking  tubes. 

and  the  farther  sound  goes,  the  fainter  it  is.  It  is  said  to  die  away 
as  it  goes ; that  is,  the  vibration  becomes  less  and  less,  till,  after 
a while,  it  is  all  lost.  It  is  like  this : if  you  drop  a stone  into 
water,  it  makes  little  waves  or  ripples  in  all  directions.  These 
become  less  and  less  the  farther  they  go  from  where  the  stone 
was  dropped.  It  is  just  so  with  the  waves  or  vibrations  of  sound 
in  the  air. 

What  is  an  echo  ? It  is  when  a sound  that  you  make  comes 
back  to  you  again.  It  is  done  in  this  way.  The  vibration  strikes 
against  some  rock,  or  house,  or  something  else,  and  then  bounds 
back  to  you,  just  as  a wave  striking  against  a rock  bounds  back. 

Why  is  it  that  a person  speaking  in  a building  can  be  heard 
more  easily  than  one  speaking  in  the  open  air  ? It  is  because  the 
vibrations  are  shut  in  by  the  walls.  It  is  for  the  same  reason 
that  you  can  hear  a whisper  so  far  through  a speaking  tube  ex- 
tending from  one  part  of  a building  to  another.  The  vibrations 
are  shut  in  within  the  tube.  They  have  no  chance  to  spread  out 
in  all  directions,  and  they  go  right  straight  on  through  the  tube. 

I have  thus  told  you  how  sound  is  made,  and  how  it  goes 
through  the  air  and  through  other  things ; but  how  is  it  that  we 
hear  sound  when  it  comes  to  our  ears  ? How  does  the  mind  know 
any  thing  about  the  vibration  of  the  air  ? This  vibration  does  not 
go  into  the  brain,  where  the  mind  is  ; it  only  goes  a little  way  into 
the  ear,  and  there  it  stops.  It  comes  against  the  drum  of  the  ear, 
and  can  go  no  farther.  How,  then,  can  the  mind  know  any  thing 
about  it  ? This  I will  tell  you. 

The  vibration  of  the  air  goes  into  the  ear  to  a membrane  fast- 


HEAEING. 


59 


The  bones  of  the  ear. 


The  different  vibrations  in  hearing. 


ened  to  a rim  of  bone,  and  called  the  drum,  and  shakes  it,  and 
this  shakes  a chain  of  little  bones  that  are  the  other  side  of  this 
drum-head.  The  last  of  these  bones  is  fastened  to  another  little 
drum,  and,  of  course,  this  is  shaken.  This  drum  covers  an  open- 
ing to  some  winding  passages  in  bone.  These  passages  are  tilled 
with  a watery  fluid.  Now  the  shaking  of  the  second  little  drum 
makes  this  fluid  shake.  The  nerve  of  hearing  feels  this  shaking 
of  the  fluid,  and  tells  the  mind  in  the  brain. 

Here  are  the  four  little  bones  that  make  the  chain  of  bones  in 
} the  ear.  They  are  curiously  shaped.  The  one 
J marked  a is  called  the  hammer,  and  b is  called  the 
anvil.  The  little  bone  marked  c is  the  smallest 
JL-— u bone  in  the  body.  That  marked  d is  called  the 
stirrup.  This  is  the  bone  that  is  fastened  to  the 
second  drum — the  one  that  covers  the  opening  into 
k the  winding  passages.  The  vibration  that  comes 
to  the  first  drum  is  passed  on  by  this  chain  of  bones  to  the  sec- 
ond drum. 

See,  now,  how  many  different  shakings  there  are  for  every  sound 
that  you  hear.  First,  the  bell,  or  whatever  it  is  that  makes  the 
sound,  shakes.  Then  there  is  a shaking  of  the  air.  This  shakes 
the  drum  of  the  ear.  Then  the  chain  of  bones  is  shaken.  The 
farthest  one  of  them  shakes  another  drum,  and  this  shakes  the 
fluid  in  the  bony  passages.  All  this  happens  every  time  that  you 
hear  a sound ; and  when  you  hear  one  sound  after  another  com- 
ing very  quickly,  how  the  vibrations  chase  each  other,  as  we  may 
say,  as  they  go  into  the  ear ! But  they  are  not  jumbled  together. 


60 


HEARING. 


Different  sizes  of  ears  in  animals.  Ear-trumpet. 

They  do  not  overtake  one  another.  Every  vibration  goes  by  it- 
self, and  so  each  sound  is  heard  distinct  from  the  others,  unless 
the  vibrations  come  very  fast  indeed.  Then  they  make  one  con- 
tinued sound.  Each  puff  of  a locomotive,  when  it  starts,  is  heard 
by  itself.  The  vibration  of  one  puff  gets  into  the  fluid  in  the  bony 
passages  before  the  one  that  follows  it ; but  as  the  locomotive  goes 
on,  the  puffs  get  nearer  and  nearer  together,  and  when  it  goes  very 
fast,  they  are  so  near  together  that  the  vibrations  do  not  go  sep- 
arate into  the  ear,  and  they  make  a continued  sound. 

Sound,  I have  told  you,  spreads  in  all  directions  in  vibrations 

or  waves.  Now  the  more  of 
these  waves  the  ear  can  catch, 
the  more  distinct  is  the  hear- 
ing. Some  animals  that  need 
to  hear  very  well  have  very 
large  ears.  Here  is  one,  the 
long-eared  bat.  He  must  hear 
very  well  indeed,  for  his  mon- 
strous ears  must  catch  a great 
many  of  the  waves  of  sound. 
We  could  hear  better  if  our  ears  were  larger ; but  large  ears  would 
not  look  well  on  our  heads  ; and  we  hear  well  enough  commonly. 
Sometimes,  when  we  do  not  hear  as  distinctly  as  we  wish  to,  we 
put  up  the  hand  to  the  ear,  as  you  see  represented  on  the  oppo- 
site page.  This  helps  the  hearing  by  stopping  the  waves  of  sound, 
and  turning  them  into  the  ear.  Those  who  are  very  deaf  some- 
times have  an  ear-trumpet,  as  it  is  called.  In  using  it,  the  large 


HEARING. 


61 


Ears  of  rabbits,  deers,  etc.  How  the  ear  is  guarded. 

trumpet  end  is  turned  toward  the  per- 
son speaking,  so  as  to  catch  the  vi- 
brations, while  the  tube  part  of  it  is 
in  the  ear. 

Some  animals  can  turn  their  ears  so 
as  to  hear  well  from  different  direc- 
tions. How  quickly  the  horse  pricks 
up  his  ears  when  he  sees  or  hears 
something  that  he  wants  to  know  more 
about ; and  then  he  can  turn  his  ears 
backward  when  he  wants  to  do  so.  It 
is  in  such  timorous  animals  as  the  hare,  the  rabbit,  and  the  deer, 
that  we  see  the  ears  most  movable.  They  are  on  the  watch  all 
the  time  for  danger,  and  the  least  sound  that  they  hear  they  turn 
their  ears  in  the  direction  of  it.  Their  ears,  too,  are  large,  so  that 
they  hear  very  easily. 

I have  told  you  how  the  eye  is  guarded.  The  ear  is  well  guard- 
ed also.  I do  not  mean  its  outer  part : it  is  the  inner  parts,  where 
the  hearing  is  really  done,  that  are  so  well  guarded.  You  remem- 
ber that  I told  you  that  there  are  passages  filled  with  a fluid. 
The  nerve  of  hearing  has  its  fine,  delicate  fibres  in  these  passages. 
They  feel  the  shaking  of  the  fluid,  and  tell  the  mind  of  it.  Now 
it  is  necessary  that  this  part  of  the  hearing  apparatus  should  be 
well  guarded ; for  this  reason,  these  passages  are  inclosed  in  the 
very  hardest  bone  in  the  body. 

Then,  too,  the  very  entrance  into  the  ear  is  well  guarded,  and 
in  a curious  way.  The  pipe  that  leads  into  the  drum  of  the  ear 


62 


HEARING. 


How  the  ear-wax  guards  the  ear. 

is  always  open,  and  you  know  bugs  are  very  apt  to  crawl  into 
such  holes.  What  do  you  suppose  is  the  reason  that  they  do  not 
often  crawl  into  the  ear?  There  is  something  there  to  prevent 
them.  It  is  the  wax.  They  probably  do  not  like  the  smell  of 
it,  and  so,  if  they  come  to  the  entrance,  they  turn  about.  Once 
in  a while  one  goes  in,  and  then  he  is  prevented  from  doing  much 
harm  by  the  wax.  He  is  soon  covered  with  this,  and  it  is  so 
sticky  that  it  keeps  him  from  kicking  very  hard.  And,  after  all, 
though  he  may  cause  some  pain,  he  can  not  get  at  the  delicate 
part  of  the  machinery  of  the  ear.  He  dies  after  a while,  if  he  is 
not  got  out,  and  perhaps  the  bitterness  of  the  wax  has  something 
to  do  with  killing  him. 

Questions. — How  is  sound  made  ? How  does  it  get  to  our  ears  ? Tell  about  the 
vibration  of  sound  in  a log.  What  is  said  about  the  dying  away  of  sound  ? What 
is  this  like?  What  is  an  echo?  What  is  said  about  speaking  in  a building? 
What  about  speaking  through  a tube  ? Tell  how  we  hear  sound.  Tell  about  the 
little  bones  in  the  ear.  What  do  these  bones  do  ? Tell  what  the  different  vibra- 
tions are  in  hearing.  What  is  said  about  the  puffing  of  a locomotive  ? Why  do 
some  animals  have  large  ears?  Why  are  our  ears  so  small?  What  animals  can 
turn  their  ears  different  ways,  and  why  ? How  is  the  inner  part  of  the  ear  guard- 
ed ? Tell  what  is  said  about  the  wax. 


THE  SMELL,  THE  TASTE,  AND  THE  TOUCH. 


63 


How  we  smell  things. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

THE  SMELL,  THE  TASTE,  AND  THE  TOUCH. 

I HAVE  told  you  that  most  of  what  the  mind  knows  about  the 
world  around  it  comes  to  it  by  the  sight  and  the  hearing.  But 
it  learns  a great  deal  by  the  other  senses,  and  these  I will  tell  you 
about  in  this  chapter. 

Did  you  ever  think  how  it  is  that  you  smell  any  thing?  You 
put  a rose  up  to  your  nose,  and  the  fragrance  is  pleasant  to  you. 
Now  what  is  this  fragrance  ? Is  it  something  that  goes  up  into 
your  nose  ? You  can  not  see  any  thing  come  from  the  rose.  But 
in  reality  very  fine  particles  come  from  it.  They  are  finer  than 
the  finest  powder.  They  float  every  where  about  in  the  air,  and, 
as  you  breathe,  they  go  with  the  air  into  your  nostrils.  Every 
perfume  that  you  smell  is  made  of  such  particles. 

But  how  do  you  think  the  mind  knows  any  thing  about  these 
particles  when  they  come  into  the  nose  ? It  is  in  this  way.  In 
the  lining  of  the  nose  are  the  fine  ends  of  the  nerve  of  smell. 
These  ends  of  the  branches  of  this  nerve  are  so  small  that  you  can 
not  see  them.  Now  the  fine  particles  that  I have  told  you  about 
touch  these  ends  of  the  nerve,  and  the  nerve  tells  the  mind  about 
them  ; and  this  is  smelling. 

The  nose  is  a more  extensive  organ  than  most  people  think  it 
is.  There  are  divisions  in  it.  These  fold  on  each  other  in  such 
a way  that  there  is  a great  deal  of  surface  in  the  nose,  and  the 
ends  of  the  nerve  of  smell  are  all  on  this  surface. 


64 


THE  SMELL,  THE  TASTE,  AND  THE  TOUCH. 


The  smell  of  some  animals.  The  enjoyment  afforded  by  the  sense  of  smell. 

Some  animals  have  a very  sharp  smell.  In  them  the  divisions 
in  the  nose  are  very  great  in  extent,  and  so  the  nerve  spreads  over 
a large  surface.  The  dog,  you  know,  is  able  to  track  his  master 
by  scenting  his  footsteps.  The  cat,  too,  has  a very  quick  smell 
for  rats  and  mice. 

Some  persons  have  a sharp  smell  for  some  things.  I have  heard 
of  a blind  gentleman  who  could  always  tell  when  there  was  a cat 
any  where  near  him  by  his  sense  of  smell.  Once  he  was  very 
sure  that  there  was  one  near  by,  though  no  one  could  see  her; 
he  insisted  upon  it  that  he  was  right,  and  after  a while  pussy  was 
found  in  a closet  of  the  room.  There  was  also  a blind  and  deaf 
person  who  could  distinguish  between  different  people  that  he 
knew  by  the  sense  of  smell. 

The  sense  of  smell  affords  us  great  enjoyment.  The  Creator 
has,  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  us,  scattered  sweet-smelling 
flowers  all  over  the  earth.  These  are  all  perfume  factories,  as  I 
told  you  in  Part  First,  made  by  him  to  give  us  pleasure.  He 
could  have  made  the  flowers  and  fruits  in  such  a way  that  they 
would  have  no  smell ; but,  in  his  desire  to  please  us  and  make  us 
happy,  lie  has  given  to  them  a great  variety  of  pleasant  odors. 
There  are,  it  is  true,  some  unpleasant  smells  in  the  world,  but 
these  are  not  any  thing  like  as  common  as  the  pleasant  ones ; and 
many  of  them  are  manifestly  very  useful  in  warning  us  of  danger. 
For  example,  the  unpleasant  odor  caused  by  filth  and  decay  tells, 
people  where  these  causes  of  disease  are,  so  that  they  may  get  rid 
of  them.  And  plants  that  are  poisonous  generally  have  a disa- 
greeable odor,  which  leads  us  to  avoid  them. 


THE  SMELL,  THE  TASTE,  AND  THE  TOUCH. 


65 


How  we  taste  and  how  we  feel. 


The  sense  of  taste  is  another  source  of  gratification  to  us.  The 
nerve  of  this  sense  has  its  fine  ends  mostly  in  the  tongue.  What 
we  take  into  the  mouth  touches  these  ends  of  the  nerve,  and  the 
nerve  tells  the  mind  about  it ; and  this  is  tasting. 

Besides  the  pleasure  which  we  have  from  the  taste,  the  great  use 
of  this  sense  is  to  guide  us  in  the  choice  of  food.  Animals  choose 
the  kinds  of  food  that  are  proper  for  them,  and  they  do  it  by  their 
taste.  They  very  seldom  make  a mistake  in  this.  The  sense  of 
taste,  like  that  of  smell,  sometimes  warns  us  of  danger.  If  our 
food  tastes  bad,  we  know  that  there  is  something  wrong  about  it* 
and  do  not  eat  it,  and  so,  perhaps,  avoid  being  made  sick. 

The  sense  of  touch  gives  a great  deal  of  knowledge  to  the  mind. 
This  sense  has  a large  number  of  nerves  in  all  parts  of  the  body, 
and  they  are  making  reports  continually  to  the  mind.  Especially 
busy  in  this  way  are  the  nerves  of  the  tips  of  the  fingers.  It  is 
by  the  fine  ends  of  these  nerves  that  the  mind  finds  out  how  dif- 
ferent things  feel.  It  finds  out  whether  they  are  soft  or  hard, 
smooth  or  rough,  etc. 

These  nerves  in  the  tips  of  the  fingers  are  of  great  service  to 
the  mind  in  guiding  it  in  using  the  muscles.  In  playing  with  the 
fingers  on  an  instrument,  the  feeling  in  the  ends  of  them  is  a guide 
to  the  mind  in  working  them.  So  it  is  with  any  thing  that  we 
do  with  them.  You  could  not  do  some  of  the  simplest  things  if 
there  was  no  feeling  in  your  fingers.  You  could  not  even  button 
and  unbutton  your  coat.  I shall  have  more  to  say  about  this 
when  I tell  you  particularly  about  the  hand. 

The  nerves  of  touch  are  not  placed  on  the  surface  of  the  skin. 
9 E 


66 


THE  SMELL,  THE  TASTE,  AND  THE  TOUCH. 


The  nerves  of  touch  in  the  skin.  How  some  animals  feel. 

We  have  really  two  skins,  an  outer  and  an  inner  one.  The  nerves 
are  in  the  inner  skin,  and  are  covered  by  the  outer  skin.  This 
outer  skin  is  very  thin  except  on  the  sole  of  the  foot  and  the 
palm  of  the  hand;  from  its  thinness  it  is  called  the  scarf-skin. 
It  is  this  which  is  raised  when  a blister  is  drawn ; and  perhaps 
you  know  that  it  does  not  hurt  to  prick  this  when  we  want  to  let 
the  water  out ; but  if  the  needle  touches  the  inner  skin,  where  the 
nerves  are,  you  feel  it  very  quickly. 

Now,  when  you  touch  any  thing,  the  nerves  in  the  inner  skin 
feel  it  through  this  scarf-skin.  This  is  so  thin  and  soft  that  the 
nerves  can  feel  through  it ; and,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  a good  pro- 
tection to  them.  If  it  were  not  for  this,  the  nerves  would  be  af- 
fected too  much  by  the  rubbing  of  things  against  them.  They 
could  not  even  bear  the  air.  If  you  had  no  scarf-skin  you  would 
be  in  great  distress  all  the  time.  You  know  how  much  pain  you 
suffer  if  you  rub  off  the  skin,  as  it  is  called,  any  where.  It  is  the 
scarf-skin  only  that  is  rubbed  off,  and  this  exposes  to  the  air  the 
fine  ends  of  the  nerves  in  the  inner  skin. 

The  ends  of  the  nerves  of  touch  are  in  rows  on  the  tips  of  the 
fingers.  It  is  these  rows  that  make  the  curved  lines  that  you  can 
see  so  plainly. 

There  are  no  animals  that  have  such  perfect  instruments  of  touch 
as  our  fingers,  are.  Animals  that  have  hoofs,  as  the  horse  and  the 
cow,  can  not  feel  much  with  their  fore  feet.  They  have  their  senso 
of  touch  mostly  in  their  lips  and  tongues.  The  elephant  has  this 
sense  chiefly  in  the  finger-shaped  thing  at  the  end  of  his  trunk. 
There  is  not  much  feeling  in  the  paws  of  dogs,  cats,  etc.  The 


THE  SMELL,  THE  TASTE,  AND  THE  TOUCH. 


67 


Whiskers  of  the  ra t.  Feelers  of  insects. 

whiskers  of  the  cat  are  feelers.  There  are  nerves  at  the  root  of 
each  of  those  long  hairs,  so  that  when  any  thing  touches  the  whis- 
kers the  cat’s  mind  knows  it  at  once. 

Insects  have  feelers  extending  out;  from  their  heads.  Some- 
times they  are  very  long,  as  you 
see  in  this  insect,  called  the  ich- 
neumon fly.  We  see  insects,  as 
they  are  going  about,  touch  things 
with  these  feelers  as  we  do  with 
our  hands.  Bees  can  work  in  the 
dark,  in  their  hives,  guided  by 
their  feelers  ; indeed,  the  bee  will  not  work  at  all  if  his  feelers  are 
cut  off : he  does  not  seem  to  know  what  to  do  with  himself.  In- 
sects sometimes  appear  to  tell  each  other  things  by  their  feelers. 
In  every  hive  of  bees  there  is  a queen.  If  she  dies,  those  that 
know  about  it  go  around  very  quickly,  telling  the  other  bees  by 
striking  their  feelers  with  their  own ; and  those  that  are  told  tell 
others,  and  thus  the  sad  event  is  soon  known  all  over  the  hive. 

Questions. — By  which  senses  does  the  mind  get  most  of  its  knowledge  ? What 
is  fragrance  ? How  does  the  mind  know  any  thing  about  it  ? What  is  said  of  the 
extent  of  the  organ  of  smell  ? What  is  said  of  the  smell  of  some  animals  ? Of  the 
acute  smell  of  some  persons  ? What  is  said  of  the  enjoyment  afforded  by  the  sense 
of  smell  ? How  are  offensive  odors  sometimes  useful  ? What  is  said  of  the  sense 
of  taste  ? What  are  its  uses  ? Where  is  the  sense  of  touch  ? Where  is  it  espe- 
cially active  ? What  do  the  nerves  of  touch  in  the  fingers  tell  the  mind  ? In  what 
way  do  they  help  us  in  using  the  muscles  ? Tell  about  the  two  skins  of  our  bodies. 
Why  is  the  outer  skin  needed  ? What  makes  the  curved  lines  on  the  tips  of  the  fin- 
gers ? What  is  said  of  touch  in  animals  that  have  hoofs  ? What  are  the  whiskers  of 
the  cat  for  ? What  is  said  of  the  feelers  of  insects  ? What  is  told  about  the  bees  ? 


68 


THE  BONES. 


IIow  the  mind  uses  what  it  learns. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  BONES. 

I HAVE  told  you,  in  the  last  few  chapters,  how  it  is  that  the 
mind  learns  about  the  world  around  it  by  the  senses.  But  the 
mind  does  something  besides  learn.  It  tells  others  about  what  it 
learns.  It  does  this  by  the  muscles  in  various  ways.  When 
you  tell  any  thing  by  speaking,  it  is  the  muscles  of  the  throat, 
and  mouth,  and  chest  that  do  it.  When  you  write,  the  muscles 
of  your  hand  are  telling  what  the  mind  directs  them  to  tell. 
When  your  face  expresses  your  thoughts  and  feelings,  it  is  the 
muscles  of  the  face  that  tell  what  the  mind  thinks  and  feels. 

The  mind  not  only  tells  things,  but  it  does  things  also,  and  it 
does  them  by  the  muscles.  You  see  a man  busily  at  work  mak- 
ing something : his  muscles  are  doing  the  work.  The  mind  is  di- 
recting them  how  to  do  it  by  the  nerves  that  spread  to  them 
from  the  brain.  How  does  his  mind  know  in  what  way  to  direct 
them  ? It  is  by  knowledge  gained  through  the  senses — by  his 
eyes  and  ears.  He  has  seen  people  do  the  same  kind  of  work 
and  they  have  told  him  about  it.  His  mind  uses  with  the  muscles 
what  it  has  learned  by  the  senses. 

You  see,  then,  that  the  mind  makes  use  of  what  it  learns  by  the 
senses  in  two  ways  : it  tells  about  it,  and  it  uses  it  in  doing  things  ; 
and  in  both  telling  and  doing  it  uses  the  muscles.  Our  knowl- 
edge, then,  goes  into  the  mind  by  the  senses — they  arc  its  inlets  ; 


THE  BONES. 


69 


The  joints  of  the  hones.  The  oiling  of  them. 

but  it  comes  out  by  the  muscles — they  are  its  outlets . If  a mind 
were  in  a body  that  had  the  senses,  but  had  no  muscles,  it  might 
know  a great  deal,  but  it  could  never  let  any  body  know  what  it 
knew,  and  it  could  not  do  any  thing. 

The  chief  things  that  are  moved  in  the  body  by  the  muscles 
are  the  bones,  and  I shall  tell  you  about  these  before  I tell  you 
about  the  muscles. 

When  you  bend  your  arm,  the  muscles  make  the  bones  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  arm  bend  on  the  bone  in  the  upper  part.  There 
is  a joint  at  the  elbow  for  this  purpose ; and  there  are  joints  in 
many  other  parts  of  the  body,  so  that  the  muscles  can  move  one 
bone  upon  another. 

These  joints  of  the  bones  are  so  contrived  that  they  do  not  wear 
out.  They  work  nicely  through  a long  life.  Now  it  would  be 
very  strange  if  a joint  in  a machine  should  work  all  the  time  for 
seventy  or  eighty  years,  and  still  be  almost  as  good  as  new0  No 
man  ever  made  such  a joint. 

You  know  that  men  keep  oiling  the  joints  in  machinery.  If  they 
did  not,  the  joints  would  soon  wear  out.  When  the  cars  stop  at 
a station,  you  see  men  with  tin  vessels  oiling  the  boxes  of  the 
wheels  of  the  locomotive  and  the  cars,  and  other  parts  that  rub  on 
each  other.  The  joints  of  our  bones  need  no  such  care  from  us. 
We  never  need  to  oil  them  as  men  oil  machinery.  They  are 
very  nicely  made.  The  ends  of  the  bones  are  tipped  with  a very 
smooth  substance,  and  this  is  always  kept  in  good  order;  and 
then,  too,  the  joints  always  keep  themselves  oiled.  How  this  is 
done  I explain  in  a book  for  older  scholars. 


70 


THE  BONES. 


Bones  of  the  head.  Bones  of  tho  chest. 

The  bones  are  the  framework  of  the  body.  They  are  to  the 
body  what  whalebones  are  to  an  umbrella,  what  timbers  are  to 
a house,  or  what  the  ribs  of  leaves  are,  as  I told  you  in  Part  First, 
to  the  leaves.  The  bones  make  the  body  firm.  You  could  not 
stand  up  if  you  had  no  bones ; you  would  have  to  crawl  like  the 
worm.  See  one  bracing  himself  to  pull  or  push.  The  bones  are 
all  pressed  tightly  against  each  other  by  the  strong  muscles. 

The  bones  of  the  body  have  very  different  shapes  and  sizes. 
Let  us  look  at  some  of  them. 

The  bones  of  the  head,  represented  here,  make 
a roundish  box.  This  is  to  hold  the  brain.  Here 
the  mind,  the  governor  of  all  the  machinery  of 
the  body,  resides.  Great  care  is  therefore  taken 
to  guard  well  this  upper  room  of  the  body.  Its 
bony  walls  are  made  very  strong. 

Look  at  this  barrel-shaped  set  of 
bones  that  make  the  chest.  The  ribs 
go  round  it  as  hoops  do  round  a barrel. 
They  are  joined  to  the  back  bone  behind 
and  to  the  breast  bone  in  front.  They 
are  joined  to  the  back  bone  in  such  a 
way  that  they  move  up  and  down  as 
you  breathe.  You  can  feel  them  move 
upward  if  you  put  your  hand  on  your 
chest  as  you  take  a full  breath.  Inside 
of  this  barrel-shaped  set  of  bones  are 
the  heart  and  lungs. 


THE  BONES, 


71 


Back  bone. 


Bowing. 


Position  of  the  head. 


The  back  bone,  as  we  call  it,  is  not  one  bone ; it  is  a chain  or 
pile  of  twenty-four  bones  placed  one  above  another.  You  can  see 
a part  of  this  pile  or  column,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  in  the  fig- 
ure of  the  bones  of  the  chest.  If  it  were  all  one  bone,  you  could 
not  twist  your  body  about  as  you  do.  And  in  making  a bow,  you 
could  not  bend  your  back.  You  could  only  bend  your  head  for- 
ward on  the  top  of  the  back  bone,  and  bend  your  body  forward  on 
your  lower  limbs.  A very  awkward  bow  that  would  be.  As  it 
is,  whenever  you  make  a bow,  there  is  a little  motion  between  each 
two  of  the  whole  twenty-four  bones,  and  this  makes  the  bow  easy 
and  graceful.  Persons  that  bow  stiffly  do  not  have  enough  of 
this  movement  in  the  column  of  bones,  but  move  it  altogether, 
very  much  as  if  it  were  all  one  bone. 

The  head  rests  on  the  top  of  this  column  of  bones.  When  you 
move  your  head  backward  and  forward,  it  rocks  on  the  topmost 
bone  of  this  column.  There  are  two  little  smooth  places  hollowed 
out  on  this  bone  for  it  to  rock  on,  and  the  head  has  two  smooth 
rockers  that  fit  into  these  places. 

Questions. — In  what  two  ways  does  the  mind  nse  what  it  learns  ? With  what 
does  it  do  this  ? What  are  the  inlets  of  the  mind’s  knowledge  ? What  are  its  out- 
lets? What  move  the  bones  on  each  other?  What  is  said  about  the  wearing  of 
the  joints  ? What  is  said  about  their  being  kept  oiled  ? What  are  the  bones  to  the 
body  ? What  is  said  about  the  bones  of  the  head  ? What  of  the  bones  of  the  chest  ? 
To  what  are  the  ribs  fastened  behind  ? To  what  in  front  ? How  many  bones  are 
there  in  what  is  called  the  back  bone  ? Why  are  there  so  many  ? What  does  the 
head  rest  on  ? What  is  said  about  the  motion  of  the  head  ? 


72 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  BONES. 


Bones  of  the  arm  and  hand. 


Shoulder  joint  and  elbow  joint. 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  BONES. 

Here  are  the  "bones  of  the  arm  and  the  hand.  The  head  of  the 

arm  bone  that  goes  into  the 
socket  at  the  shoulder  is,  as 
you  see,  a smooth  rounclball. 
It  fits  into  a sort  of  cup.  The 
joint  here  is  what  we  call  a 
ball-and-socket  joint  The 
ball  turns  in  the  socket  very 
easily  in  making  any  whirl- 
ing motion  with  your  arm,  as 
you  do  when  you  jump  the 
rope. 

The  joint  at  the  elbow  is 
of  a different  kind  : it  is  what 
we  call  a hinge  joint.  You 
can  not  make  any  whirling 
motion  at  your  elbow  as  you 
can  at  the  shoulder ; the  mo- 
tion is  all  one  way,  like  a 
hinge.  The  chief  motion  at 
the  wrist  also  is  a hinge  motion,  as  you  can  see  by  working  your 
hand  back  and  forth.  There  are  two  bones,  you  notice,  in  the 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  BONES. 


73 


Bones  of  the  leg  and  foot. 


arm  below  the  elbow : these  roll  on  each  other  in 
such  a way  that  you  can  turn  the  palm  of  your 
hand  in  different  directions. 

There  are  a great  many  little  bones  in  the  body 
of  the  hand  and  in  the  fingers.  There  is  a very 
great  variety  in  their  motions,  so  that  the  hand 
can  do  almost  any  thing  that  you  want  it  to  do. 
I shall  have  something  more  to  tell  you  about 
this  when  you  come  to  the  chapter  on  the  hand. 

You  have  here  the  bones  of  the  leg  and  foot. 
You  see  only  the  lower  end  of  the  stout  thigh  bone, 
at  the  knee  joint : it  makes  a hinge  joint  with  the 
large  bone  of  the  leg.  The  motion  of  this  joint  is 
only  one  way,  backward  and  forward,  as  you  see 
in  walking.  The  small,  thick  bone,  called  the 
knee-pan,  is  left  out  in  the  figure.  One  of  the 
uses  of  this  bone  is  to  be  a shield  to  the  joint. 
If  you  fall  down  in  running,  you  are  apt  to  come 
upon  the  knee,  and  this  shield  keeps  the  joint 
from  being  hurt. 

You  see  that  long,  very  slender  bone  at  the 
side  of  the  large  one : one  would  suppose  that  this 
would  be  very  easily  broken,  but  it  is  not,  because 
it  is  so  well  covered  up  with  muscles.  Its  lower 
end  is  quite  thick  and  strong,  and  makes  the  outer 
part  of  the  ankle.  The  ankle  joint  is  a hinge 
joint  like  that  of  the  knee. 


74 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  BONES. 


Why  there  are  so  many  bones  in  the  foot. 


Skeleton  of  the  bat. 


There  are  as  many  bones  in  the  foot  as  there  are  in  the  hand. 
Why  is  this  ? You  remember  that  I told  you  that  the  hand  had 
so  many  bones  because  it  had  to  perform  so  many  different  mo- 
tions. But  it  is  not  so  with  the  foot ; it  does  not  have  much  va- 
riety of  motion.  There  is  some  other  reason,  then,  for  its  having 
so  many  bones.  It  is  this.  If  the  bones  of  the  foot  were  all  in 
one,  the  foot  would  be  a very  stiff  and  clumsy  thing ; it  would 
not  be  springy  as  it  is  now.  You  would  make  awkward  work  in 
walking  and  running  with  such  feet. 

The  bones  of  different  animals  are  made  differently,  according 
to  the  work  which  they  do.  Those  that  do  heavy  work  have 

heavy,  stout  skeletons ; but 
those  that  have  only  light 
wTork  to  do  have  their  bones 
slender.  A bird  has  a light 
skeleton,  for  it  could  not  fly 
so  well  with  a heavy  one. 
Here  is  the  skeleton  of  a bat. 
The  bones  are  exceedingly 
light  and  slender,  for  it  is 
light  and  nimble  work  that 
he  does  in  flying. 

The  bones  in  an  old  person 
are  more  brittle  than  those  in 
a child.  If  the  child’s  bones 
were  brittle  they  would  be 
very  often  broken,  because  he  so  often  tumbles  down.  If  old  per- 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  BONES. 


i O 


The  bones  of  a child’s  head. 


Why  we  have  two  sets  of  teeth. 


sons  were  as  careless  as  children  are,  there  would  be  broken  limbs 
to  be  taken  care  of  in  almost  every  house.  They  would  not  get 
off  with  a short  crying  spell  and  a bruise,  as  children  commonly 
do  when  they  have  a fall. 

There  is  one  contrivance  in  the  child’s  head  that  prevents  the 
bones  from  breaking  in  its  frequent  falls.  In  the  grown  person 
the  bones  of  the  head  are  fastened  tightly  together,  and  are  almost 
like  one  bone.  But  it  is  not  so  with  the  child.  In  an  infant’s 
head  they  are  very  loose,  and  you  can  feel  quite  a space  between 
the  bones  at  the  top  of  his  forehead.  Now,  when  the  child  falls 
and  hits  his  head,  the  loose  bones  give  and  do  not  break. 

Though  the  teeth  are  like  the  bones,  they  are  different  from 
them  in  one  thing.  The  bones  grow  with  the  rest  of  the  body,  but 
the  teeth  never  grow  any  larger  than  they  are  at  first.  When  the 
tooth  first  pushes  up  through  the  gum,  it  is  as  large  as  it  ever  will 
be.  Look  at  the  reason  of  this.  The  outside  of  the  tooth — the 
enamel,  as  it  is  called— is  made  very  hard.  It  needs  to  be  so,  that 
the  tooth  may  do  its  work  well.  Such  a hard  substance,  when 
once  made,  is  finished.  It  never  can  grow.  No  blood  can  get 
into  it  to  make  it  grow,  as  it  can  into  the  bones. 

And  now  you  see  the  reason  that  every  person  has  two  sets  of 
teeth.  If  the  teeth  that  one  has  when  a child  should  remain  in 
his  head,  they  would  be  too  small  for  him  when  he  became  an 
adult ; and  as  the  jaws  grew  they  would  become  quite  far  apart, 
and  so  would  look  very  strange.  To  get  rid  of  these  difficulties, 
the  first  set  begin  to  be  shed  about  the  seventh  year,  and  a new 
set  of  larger  teeth  take  their  places.  As  the  new  teeth  are  not 


76 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  BONES. 


Skeletons  of  crabs  and  lobsters. 


How  they  are  shed  every  year. 


only  larger,  but  are  more  in  number,  they  fill  up  all  the  room  de- 
signed for  them  in  the  enlarged  jaws. 

All  the  bones  of  our  bodies  are  inside,  and  are  covered  with 
muscles,  cords,  and  ligaments  ; and  over  all  is  the  skin.  But  the 
bones  of  some  animals  are  outside.  This  is  the  case  with  crabs 
and  lobsters.  Their  bones  make  a sort  of  coat  of  mail  to  defend 
the  soft  parts  from  being  injured.  The  hard  coats  of  many  insects 
also  may  be  considered  as  their  skeletons. 

Such  animals  as  crabs  and  lobsters  have  new  skeletons  every 
year.  The  old  skeletons  are  too  small  for  their  growing  bodies, 
and  so  they  must  be  cast  off.  The  animal  crawls  into  a retired 
place  to  go  through  the  operation.  It  is  painful,  and  sometimes 
proves  even  fatal.  He  makes  a great  effort,  and  the  shell  comes 
apart.  He  then,  by  hard  struggling,  pulls  himself  out.  He  now 
keeps  still  a few  days  in  his  retirement,  and  another  case  or  skel- 
eton, as  hard  as  the  old  one,  is  formed.  When  he  comes  out  with 
his  new  armor  on,  he  is  as  brave  and  as  ready  to  fight  as  ever. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  shoulder  joint  ? The  elbow  joint  ? The  wrist  ? 
How  is  it  that  you  can  turn  the  palm  of  the  hand  one  way  and  another  ? Why  are 
there  so  many  little  bones  in  the  hand  ? What  is  said  about  the  knee  joint  ? What 
is  one  of  the  uses  of  the  knee-pan  ? What  is  said  about  the  slender  bone  in  the 
leg  ? What  about  the  ankle  joint  ? Why  are  there  so  many  bones  in  the  foot  ? 
What  is  said  of  the  difference  in  brittleness  between  the  bones  of  the  old  and  of  the 
young?  What  is  said  about  the  bones  in  a child’s  head?  How  are  the  teeth  un- 
like the  bones  ? Why  do  we  have  two  sets  of  teeth  ? What  is  said  about  the  bones 
of  some  animals  ? What  is  related  of  crabs  and  lobsters  ? 


THE  MUSCLES. 


77 


IIow  the  muscles  act. 


The  muscles  that  bend  and  straighten  the  arm. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  MUSCLES. 

I have  already  told  you  some  things  about  the  muscles. 
There  is  no  motion  in  the  body  that  is  not  made  by  them. 
They  move  the  bones,  and  they  move  other  parts  also,  as  the 
tongue,  the  corners  of  the  mouth,  the  eyes,  the  eyelids,  etc. 

But  you  will  want  to  know  how  they  do  this.  Stretch  a strip 
of  India-rubber  with  your  hands.  Now  let  it  go,  and  it  will 
shorten  itself.  When  a muscle  pulls  a bone,  it  shortens  itself  just 
as  this  strip  of  India-rubber  does.  But  the  cause  of  its  shorten- 
ing itself  is  different.  The  mind  makes  the  muscle  shorten. 
You  think  to  bend  your  arm  ; and,  as  quick  as  thought,  some- 
thing goes  by  nerves  to  the  muscle  that  can  do  this,  and  it  short- 
ens itself  and  bends  the  arm. 

Here  is  a figure  that  shows  the  muscle  that  bends  the  arm,  and 

also  the  muscle  that 
straightens  it  out.  All 
the  other  muscles  of 
the  arm  are  left  out, 
so  that  you  may  see 
just  how  these  operate. 
Look  at  the  muscle 
marked  a : you  can  see 
that  when  this  short- 


78 


THE  MUSCLES. 


Color  of  muscles  in  different  animals.  Muscles  that  move  the  fingers. 

ens  itself  it  must  pull  up  the  forearm,  that  is,  that  part  of  the  arm 
which  is  below  the  elbow.  The  muscle  b has  a contrary  effect. 
The  end  of  this  muscle  is  fastened  to  the  point  of  the  elbow,  and 
when  it  shortens  it  pulls  the  forearm  down  and  straightens  the 
arm. 

When  a muscle  shortens  itself,  it  swells  out  and  becomes  hard. 
Straighten  your  arm,  and  then  take  hold  of  it  with  your  other 
hand  a little  above  the  elbow ; now  bend  up  your  arm  as  forcibly 
as  you  can,  and  you  will  feel  the  muscle  on  the  front  of  the  arm 
swell  out  and  harden  as  you  hold  your  hand  upon  it. 

The  muscles  are  the  fleshy  part  of  the  body.  The  meat  of  an- 
imals is  made  up  of  muscles.  They  are  not  of  the  same  color  in 
all  animals.  In  some  they  are  quite  red,  while  in  others  they  are 
of  a light  color.  Beef — the  meat  of  the  ox  or  the  cow — is,  you 
know,  a deep  red,  and  is  very  different  from  the  meat  of  a fowl. 
The  muscles  of  fishes  are  generally  very  light  in  color. 

Your  arm  below  the  elbow  is  very  fleshy.  Most  of  the  mus- 
cles that  move  the  fingers,  as  well  as  those  that  move  the  hand, 
are  there.  Take  hold  of  that  part  of  the  arm  with  your  other 
hand  while  you  work  the  fingers  back  and  forth,  and  you  will 
feel  the  muscles  as  they  shorten  themselves  to  pull  the  fingers. 
Here  is  a figure  showing  the  muscles  in  this  fleshy  part  of  the 


THE  MUSCLES. 


79 


Muscles  in  the  hand.  The  round  fullness  of  the  arm.  Drum-stick  of  the  fowl. 


arm.  You  see  that  they  are  quite  large.  The  wrist  is  very  slen- 
der. There  are  no  muscles  there;  there  are  bright,  shining,  smooth 
cords  there,  that  run  from  the  muscles  to  the  fingers.  The  mus- 
cles pull  the  fingers  by  these  cords  just  as  men  pull  any  thing  by 
ropes.  You  can  see  the  play  of  these  cords  very  plainly  on  the 
back  of  the  hand  of  a thin  person  as  the  fingers  are  worked. 

There  are  only  some  very  small  muscles  in  the  hand,  as  those 
that  spread  the  fingers  out,  and  those  that  bring  them  together 
again.  If  you  work  your  fingers  in  this  way,  you  will  see  that 
the  muscles,  which  do  such  light  work,  need  not  be  large  and 
strong.  The  muscles  that  do  the  hard  work  of  the  hand  are  up  in 
the  arm.  They  are  very  large.  If  they  were  not,  you  could  not 
grasp  things  so  tightly,  and  pull  so  hard  as  you  sometimes  do. 

Now  see  why  it  is  that  these  large  muscles  are  put  so  far  away 
from  where  they  do  their  work.  If  they  were  put  in  the  hand, 
they  would  make  it  a large  and  clumsy  thing.  They  are  there- 
fore put  up  in  the  arm,  where  there  is  room  for  them,  and  they 
have  small,  but  very  strong  cords  by  which  they  pull  the  fingers. 
They  give  to  the  arm  that  round  fullness  that  makes  its  shape  so 
beautiful. 

You  can  see  the  same  kind  of  arrangement  in  the  drum-stick, 
as  it  is  called,  of  the  fowl.  The  large  muscles  that  work  the 
claws  are  up  in  the  full,  round  part  of  the  leg,  and  there  are  small, 
stout  cords  that  extend  from  them  down  to  the  claws.  Children 
often  amuse  themselves  with  pulling  these  cords  in  the  drum-stick 
of  a fowl,  making  the  claws  move  just  as  they  are  moved  by  the 
muscles  of  the  animal  when  he  is  alive. 


80 


THE  MUSCLES. 


Muscles  of  the  toes.  Ligaments  of  the  wrist  and  the  ankle. 

It  is  with  the  muscles  that  move  the  toes  as  it  is  with  those 
that  move  the  fingers.  They  are  put  mostly  up  in  the  leg,  and 
their  slender  tendons,  by  which  they  pull,  go  down  over  the  ankle 
to  the  toes,  just  as  in  the  arm  the  tendons  go  over  the  wrist  to 
the  fingers.  If  the  muscles  of  the  toes  were  all  put  in  the  foot, 
they  would  make  it  very  clumsy,  and  at  the  same  time  the  leg 
would  be  ugly  from  the  want  of  that  fullness  which  it  now  has. 

Both  at  the  wrist  and  the  ankle  the  tendons  are  bound  down 

/ 

very  tightly.  If  this  were  not  so  they  would  be  always  flying 
out  of  place,  stretching  out  the  skin  before  them  in  ridges.  This 
would  be  the  case  especially  with  the  tendons  that  go  to  the  toes. 
Every  time  that  the  muscles  pulled  on  them,  they  would  start  out 
very  much  at  the  bend  of  the  ankle  if  they  were  not  firmly  held 
by  the  ligaments.  0 

The  muscles  are  of  many  shapes — round,  flat,  long,  short,  etc. 
They  are  shaped  to  suit  the  work  which  they  are  to  do. 

They  vary  much  in  size  also.  Some  are  very  large,  and  some 
are  exceedingly  small.  How  large  are  the  muscles  of  the  arm  that 
wield  the  hammer  and  the  axe ! But  how  small  are  the  mus- 
cles that  work  the  musical  cords  in  your  throat  when  you  speak 
or  sing ! These  little  muscles  make  all  the  different  notes  of  the 
voice  by  pulling  on  these  cords,  and  in  doing  this  many  of  their 
motions  are  exceedingly  slight. 

You  remember  that  in  the  chapter  on  the  hearing  I told  you 
about  the  little  bones  in  the  ear.  These  have  some  very  little 
muscles  which  move  them.  The  bones  and  the  muscles,  a and 
6,  are  represented  in  the  following  figure.  The  muscles,  you  see. 


THE  MUSCLES. 


81 


Muscles  in  the  ear. 


Large  and  small  muscles  in  birds. 


have  tendons  or  cords  to  pull  by,  in 
the  same  way  that  the  muscles  in  the 
arm  have.  Both  the  bones  and  the 
muscles  are  larger  in  this  figure  than 
they  are  in  the  body.  As  the  bones 
are  the  smallest  ones  that  we  have,  so 
b it  is  with  the  muscles.  Very  small 
machinery  is  this  part  of  the  hearing  machinery. 

The  birds  that  go  swiftly  on  their  wings  have  very  large 
muscles  to  work  them.  This  gives  them  the  full,  round  breast 
which  you  see  that  they  have.  But  the  muscles  that  work  the 
musical  cords  in  their  little  throats,  as  they  sing  so  sweetly,  are 
so  small  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  them. 

Questions. — By  what  is  all  motion  in  the  body  made  ? What  do  the  muscles 
move  ? Explain  how  the  muscles  move  things.  Tell  about  the  two  muscles  of  the 
arm  in  the  figure.  What  is  said  about  the  swelling  out  of  the  muscles  as  they  short- 
en ? What  is  the  meat  of  animals  ? What  is  said  about  the  color  of  muscles  in 
different  animals?  What  is  said  of  the  muscles  in  the  arm  below  the  elbow? 
What  is  said  of  the  wrist  ? What  of  the  muscles  in  the  hand  ? Why  are  most 
of  the  muscles  that  move  the  fingers  put  up  in  the  arm  ? What  is  said  about  the 
drum-stick  of  a fowl  ? What  is  said  about  the  muscles  of  the  toes  ? What  about 
the  ligaments  of  the  tendons  at  the  wrist  and  ankle  ? What  is  said  of  the  shapes 
of  muscles?  What  of  their  sizes?  What  are  the  smallest  muscles  in  the  body? 
What  is  said  about  the  muscles  of  birds  used  in  flying  and  those  used  in  singing  ? 

2 F 


82 


MORE  ABOUT  TIIE  MUSCLES. 


Number  of  muscles  in  the  body. 


All  connected  with  the  brain  by  nerves. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MORE  ABOUT  THE  MUSCLES. 

There  is  a great  number  of  muscles  in  the  whole  body  to  pro- 
duce all  its  motions.  There  are  about  fifty  in  each  arm  and  hand. 
In  the  whole  body  there  are  about  four  hundred  and  fifty,  and 
each  muscle  is  made  up  of  a great  number  of  fibres  or  threads, 
every  fibre  having  its  own  work  to  do. 

Now  all  these  muscles  have  nerves  that  connect  them  with  the 
brain,  and  the  mind  tells  them  by  these  nerves  just  what  to  do. 
Each  muscle  has  a great  many  little  nervous  ends  scattered  through 
it  every  where.  The  message  from  the  mind  that  tells  the  mus- 
cle to  act  does  not  go  to  the  whole  muscle  as  one  thing,  as  a mes- 
sage is  sent  to  a person.  It  goes  to  each  fibre  of  it,  telling  that 
fibre  what  to  do.  Every  fibre  of  the  muscle  has  its  little  nervous 
tube  connecting  it  with  the  brain,  for  the  nerves  are  bundles  of 
tubes,  just  as  the  muscles  are  bundles  of  fibres.  And  each  fibre 
gets  its  messages  from  the  mind  separate  from  all  the  other  fibres 
by  its  own  tube,  so  that  each  fibre  is  a workman  by  itself.  How 
well  these  workmen  pull  together  when  they  all  get  a message 
from  your  mind  by  their  telegraphic  tubes ! 

Commonly  it  takes  several  muscles  to  make  any  motion,  and 
sometimes  many  muscles  act  together.  When  this  is  so,  mes- 
sages are  sent  to  a great  multitude  of  fibres  in  these  many  muscles. 
Think  of  this.  Raise  your  hand.  It  is  not  one  muscle  that  does 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  MUSCLES. 


83 


The  endless  variety  of  messages  sent  from  the  brain  to  the  muscles. 


this,  but  many.  Your  mind  has  sent  a message  to  all  the  fibres 
of  these  muscles,  and  they  have  all  done  their  part  in  raising  your 
hand.  But  now  raise  it  again  a little  differently.  A different 
message  for  this  has  been  sent  to  all  the  fibres  ; and  so  for  all  the 
different  motions  there  are  different  messages.  It  does  not  seem 
possible  that  so  many  different  messages  should  be  sent  through 
the  nerves  to  the  fibres  of  all  the  muscles,  and  that  these  fibres 
should  obey  them  so  perfectly. 

This  is  wonderful  even  in  so  simple  a motion  as  raising  the 
hand;  but  how  much  more  wonderful  when  a great  variety  of 
rapid  motions  are  made  by  the  muscles,  as  in  playing  on  a piano  ! 
How  busy  is  the  mind  of  the  playftr  in  sending  its  messages,  one 
after  the  other,  to  the  multitudes  of  muscular  fibres  that  work  the 
arms  and  the  fingers ! And  if  he  sings  at  the  same  time  that  he 
plays,  his  mind  is  sending  messages  also  to  the  muscles  of  the 
chest,  and  throat,  and  mouth.  And  what  adds  greatly  to  the 
wonder  is,  that  all  this  time  that  the  mind  is  sending  out  so  many 
messages,  it  is  receiving  messages  from  the  senses.  Messages  are 
going  from  the  sounds  of  the  piano  and  the  voice  along  the  nerves 
of  the  ear  to  the  mind.  They  go  also  from  the  tips  of  the  busy 
fingers  as  they  press  the  keys.  How  wonderful  that  all  these 
messages  are  going  back  and  forth  so  rapidly,  and  the  mind  in  the  ~ 
brain  manages  them  without  any  confusion ! 

I have  told  you  that  there  are  some  parts  besides  bones  that 
are  moved  by  muscles.  Different  parts  of  the  face  are  moved  by 
them,  and  it  is  this  that  gives  it  its  different  expressions.  Thus, 
when  you  are  pleased  and  laugh,  the  muscles  pull  up  the  corners 


84 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  MUSCLES. 


The  muscles  used  in  smiling  and  laughing. 


of  the  mouth.  If  you  laugh  very  hard,  they  pull  them  up  very 

much,  as  you  see  in  the 
face  drawn  here.  See 
how  this  face  is  wrinkled 
under  the  eyes.  This 
is  because  the  muscles 
pull  at  the  corners  of 
the  mouth  so  hard  as  to 
push  up  the  cheeks. 

What  do  you  think 
the  difference  is  between 
laughing  and  smiling  ? 
It  is  this.  In  laughing, 
the  corners  of  the  mouth 
are  drawn  up  a good 
deal,  but  in  smiling  they 
are  drawn  up  only  a little.  Most  people  think  that  the  eyes  have  a 
great  deal  to  do  with  laughing  and  smiling,  and  they  talk  about  a 
laughing  eye  and  a pleasant  eye.  But  this  is  not  correct.  It  is 
these  muscles,  which  pull  up  the  corners  of  the  mouth,  that  make 
the  eye  look  pleasant  and  laughing  ; indeed,  laughing  and  smiling 
can  be  done  with  the  eyes  shut.  We  often  see  a beautiful  smile  in 
the  face  of  the  sleeping  infant.  It  is  because  some  pleasant  dream 
in  his  mind  plays  on  the  nerves  that  go  to  his  smiling  muscles. 

There  are  muscles  to  pull  the  corners  of  the  mouth  down,  and 
these  make  the  face  look  sad  ; and  if  the  muscles  that  wrinkle  the 
eyebrows  act  at  the  same  time,  the  face  is  both  sad  and  cross,  as 


MORE  ABOUT  TIIE  MUSCLES. 


85 


The  sad  muscles  “ Down  in  the  mouth.”  The  proud  muscle 


you  see  here.  Observe  just 
what  the  difference  is  be- 
tween  this  face  and  the 
laughing  face  on  the  oppo- 
site page.  The  difference  is 
merely  in  the  corners  of  the 
mouth  and  in  the  eyebrows. 
In  this  face  the  two  wrink- 
lers  of  the  eyebrows  are  in 
action,  and  so  are  the  two 
muscles  that  pull  down  the 
corners  of  the  mouth.  F our 
small  muscles,  then,  make 
this  face  sad  and  cross.  But 
in  the  laughing  face  the  eyebrow-wrinklers  are  quiet,  and  the  cor- 
ners of  the  mouth  are  pulled  up  instead  of  being  pulled  down.  It 
is  the  two  little  muscles  that  pull  up  the  corners  of  the  mouth  that 
do  all  the  laughing  in  the  face. 

You  have  often  heard  the  expressions,  “ He  had  a down  look,” 
and  “His  countenance  fell.”  These  refer  to  the  effect  produced 
by  sadness  on  the  corners  of  the  mouth.  This  explains  also  the 
meaning  of  the  common  expression,  “Down  in  the  mouth.” 

There  is  a certain  muscle  called  the  proud  muscle.  It  pushes 
up  the  under  lip.  It  is  chiefly  by  this  that  pouting,  that  ugly 
expression  so  common  with  some  children,  is  done.  When  the 
eyebrow-wrinklers  act  at  the  same  time,  there  is  scowling  with 
the  pouting,  and  then  the  face  is  very  ugly.  I beseech  of  you 


8G 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  MUSCLES. 


Snarling  muscles,  The  smiling  of  the  dog.  The  chief  muscles  of  expression. 


not  to  get  into  the  habit  of  using  these  cross  muscles.  Keep  al- 
ways pleasant  and  kind,  and  then  those  nice  little  muscles  that 
draw  up  the  corners  of  the  mouth  will  always  be  ready  to  light  up 
your  face  with  a cheerfulness  that  shall  be  pleasant  to  look  upon. 

There  are  some  animals  that  have  certain  muscles  in  the  face 
that  we  have  not.  These  are  the  snarling  muscles.  They  pull 
up  the  lip  at  the  sides  of  the  mouth  so  as  to  show  the  long,  tear- 
ing teeth.  You  see  them  in  operation  in  the  dog,  the  tiger,  etc., 
when  they  are  angry.  No  animal  but  man  has  in  the  face  either 
the  frowning,  or  the  sad,  or  the  smiling  muscles.  Perhaps  you 
will  say  that  the  dog  smiles  when  he  is  pleased  and  looks  up  at 
his  master.  He  smiles,  it  is  true,  but  he  does  it  only  with  his 
wagging  tail,  for  he  has  no  muscles  in  his  face  to  do  it  with. 

How  wonderful  is  the  variety  of  expression  in  the  human  face ! 
And  yet  all  is  caused  by  a few  muscles,  and  the  principal  ones 
are  those  that  draw  up  and  draw  down  the  corners  of  the  mouth, 
and  those  that  wrinkle  the  eyebrows.  . 

Questions. — How  many  muscles  are  there  in  the  arm  and  hand  ? How  many  in 
the  whole  body?  What  is  each  muscle  made  up  of?  What  is  said  of  the  fibres? 
Is  it  common  for  a motion  to  be  made  by  one  muscle  alone  ? What  is  said  about 
raising  the  arm  in  different  ways  ? What  is  said  about  the  variety  of  rapid  mo- 
tions that  are  sometimes  performed  ? What  gives  the  face  its  different  expressions  ? 
How  is  laughing  done  ? What  makes  the  wrinkling  under  the  eyes  in  laughing  ? 
What  is  the  difference  between  laughing  and  smiling  ? Has  the  eye  any  thing  to  do 
with  them?  What  is  said  about  the  sad  muscles?  What  about  the  cross  ones? 
What  is  the  difference  between  a cross  and  sad  face  and  a laughing  one  ? What 
is  said  about  certain  expressions  in  common  use  ? What  is  said  about  the  muscles 
of  expression  in  the  face  of  animals  ? What  is  said  of  the  variety  of  expression  in 
the  human  face  ? 


THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVES  IN  ANIMALS. 


87 


The  brain  the  mind’s  central  workshop. 


How  animals  learn. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVES  IN  ANIMALS. 

I have  told  you  liow  your  mind  learns  about  the  world  around 
you,  and  how  it  makes  use  of  its  knowledge  by  means  of  the  ma- 
chinery of  your  body — the  muscles,  bones,  etc.  Your  mind  is  in 
the  brain,  and  uses  the  brain  to  think  with ; and  from  the  brain 
branch  out  all  the  nerves  by  which  it  works  all  the  various  ma- 
chinery of  the  body.  Your  brain,  then,  may  be  considered  the 
central  work-shop  of  your  mind  ; or  it  is  like  an  engine-room  of  a 
factory,  where  the  engine  is  that  keeps  the  machinery  in  other 
parts  of  the  building  in  motion. 

The  different  animals  have  a brain  and  nerves  just  as  you  have, 
and  their  minds  in  their  brains  learn  about  things  around  them. 
They  do  not  learn  so  much  as  your  mind  does,  it  is  true  ; but  they 
really  do  learn.  If  you  look  at  a kitten  when  it  is  first  born,  it  is 
very  much  like  a baby.  It  does  not  know  any  thing.  But,  like 
the  baby,  it  knows  more  and  more  every  day,  and  when  it  gets  to 
be  a cat  it  knows  a great  deal ; and  all  that  it  knows  has  come  to 
its  mind  in  the  same  way  as  what  you  know  has  come  into  your 
mind.  It  has  come  in  through  its  senses.  All  its  knowledge 
came  in  at  its  eyes  and  ears,  etc.,  and  got  to  its  brain  by  the 
nerves. 

The  mind  in  animals,  too,  uses  the  muscles  in  the  same  way 
that  your  mind  does.  Watch  a kitten  at  play.  The  muscles  that 


88 


THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVES  IN  ANIMALS. 


The  mind  of  a kitten  as  it  plays.  The  minds  and  brains  of  insects. 

move  her  paws  are  directed  by  her  mind  in  the  brain  by  means  of 
the  nerves.  As  she  pokes  at  the  thing  that  you  hold  out  to  her, 
the  nerves  of  her  eyes  are  telling  the  mind  in  the  brain  all  the  time 
about  the  string,  and  then  the  mind  is  telling  the  muscles  of  the 
paws  what  to  do.  See  her  as  she  springs  to  catch  the  string  that 
you  draw  along  on  the  floor.  As  she  watches  it,  messages  are  go- 
ing from  those  bright  eyes  to  her  mind  in  the  brain  ; and  then,  as 
she  springs,  messages  are  sent  from  her  brain  to  a great  many 
muscles  in  different  parts  of  her  body.  The  mind  tells  the  mus- 
cles just  when  and  how  to  act,  and  they  all  do  exactly  as  the  mind 
tells  them.  The  mind  of  a cat  sets  a great  deal  of  machinery  at 
work  when  she  makes  a spring  to  catch  any  thing. 

What  I have  told  you  about  some  animals  is  true  of  all.  The 
little  insect  that  flies  out  of  the  way  when  you  strike  at  him  has 
a little  brain,  and  there  his  mind  thinks  about  what  it  sees,  and 
hears,  and  feels,  etc., just  as  your  mind  does;  and  when  he  flies 
away  so  quickly  from  the  blow  that  his  eyes  see  coming,  his  mind 
tells  the  muscles  to  make  the  wings  go.  There  are  nerves  that 
carry  messages  from  his  senses  to  the  mind  in  his  brain,  and  there 
are  nerves  that  carry  messages  from  his  brain  to  his  muscles,  as 
there  are  in  you.  The  brain  is  very  small,  and  the  nerves  are 
very  fine,  but  they  do  their  work  well.  They  make  a little  tele- 
graph, but  it  is  a good  one. 

What  a quantity  of  thinking  there  is  done  in  the  brains  of  all 
the  animals  in  the  world ! How  busy  their  minds  are,  receiving 
reports  from  their  senses,  and  working  all  the  machinery  of  their 
bodies.  Go  out  into  the  garden,  and  see  the  birds,  the  butterflies, 


THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVES  IN  ANIMALS. 


89 




Animals  that  think  more  than  others  have  larger  brains. 


the  bees,  the  flies,  the  ants,  the  frogs,  the  toads,  and  the  worms ; 
they  are  all  busy  thinking.  They  can  not  move  without  think- 
ing. It  is  their  thinking  that  makes  their  muscles  move  them. 
And  they  think  about  what  they  move  for. 

Some  of  them  think  more  than  others.  The  bird  thinks  more 
than  the  worm.  Some  think  faster  than  others.  The  humming- 
bird, that  darts  so  quickly  from  flower  to  flower,  thinks  as  fast  as 
he  works.  But  the  lazy  toad  is  a slow  thinker.  His  mind  does 
not  work  the  machinery  of  his  muscles  much,  and  so  does  but  lit- 
tle thinking.  But  even  he  once  in  a while  thinks  quickly.  Let 
a fly  walk  along  pretty  near  him,  and  he  will  catch  it  with  his 
tongue  so  quickly  that  you  can  not  see  just  how  he  does  it.  He 
watches  the  fly  intently,  keeping  very  still  all  the  while  ; and  when 
it  gets  near  enough,  he  thrusts  out  his  tongue,  and  the  fly  is  gone. 
You  would  hardly  think  that  so  lazy-looking  an  animal  could  do 
any  thing  so  quickly.  But  he  is  nimble  as  a fly-catcher,  if  he  is 
not  nimble  at  any  thing  else ; and  very  quickly  must  the  mind  in 
his  brain  think  when  it  is  working  its  fly-catching  machinery. 

The  more  an  animal  thinks,  the  larger  is  the  brain  as  compared 
with  the  rest  of  the  body.  Man  thinks  more  than  any  other  ani- 
mal, and  so  he  has  a large  brain.  But  the  oyster  has  hardly  any 
thing  that  can  be  called  a brain,  for  in  his  still  life,  shut  up  as  he 
is  in  his  shell,  he  thinks  but  little.  But  such  animals  as  horses, 
dogs,  cats,  birds,  monkeys,  etc.,  have  quite  large  brains,  for  they 
think  a great  deal.  Their  brains,  however,  are  not,  by  any 
means,  as  large  as  the  brain  of  man  is  in  proportion  to  the  size 
of  the  bodjr. 


90 


THE  BEAIN  AND  NERVES  IN  ANIMALS. 


The  brain  compared  to  machinery. 


This  is  as  we  should  suppose  it  would  be.  The  brain  is  the 
machinery  with  which  the  mind  thinks.  Now,  whenever  we  see 
a great  deal  of  machinery  together  at  work,  we  know  that  it  is  be- 
cause there  is  much  to  be  done  by  it ; and  when  we  see  a small 
machine  that  has  not  many  different  parts,  we  know  that  it  is 
not  intended  to  do  much.  So  it  is  with  the  mind’s  thinking  ma- 
chinery. The  brain  of  an  animal  that  thinks  but  little  is  small 
and  simple ; but  the  brain  of  one  that  thinks  much  is  large  and 
has  many  parts.  Though  animals  do  their  thinking  with  their 
brains  as  we  do  with  ours,  there  is  some  thinking  that  we  do  that 
they  can  not.  There  are  some  things  about  which  they  know 
• nothing.  But  I will  tell  you  about  this  in  another  chapter. 

Questions. — What  does  your  mind  do  with  your  brain  ? How  is  your  brain  like 
the  engine-room  of  a factory  ? What  is  said  about  the  minds  of  different  animals  ? 
How  is  a kitten,  when  it  is  first  born,  like  a baby  ? How  does  it  learn  ? What  is 
said  about  the  mind,  and  brain,  and  nerves  of  an  insect?  What  is  said  about  the 
quantity  of  thinking  done  in  the  brains  of  animals  ? How  do  some  differ  from  oth- 
ers in  their  thinking?  Tell  about  the  toad.  What  is  said  about  the  size  of  the 
brain  in  different  animals  ? How  is  the  brain  compared  with  machinery  ? 


THE  VARIETY  OF  MACHINERY  IN  ANIMALS. 


91 


Machinery  in  the  oyster  suited  to  its  wants. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  VAKIETY  OF  MACHINERY  IN  ANIMALS. 

You  have  seen  what  a variety  of  curious  machinery  there  is  in 
our  bodies  for  our  minds  to  work,  besides  that  which  is  needed 
to  keep  the  body  in  repair.  But  I have  told  you  some  things 
about  other  animals  as  I have  gone  along.  There  is  in  them  also 
a great  deal  of  machinery,  and  it  is  different  in  each.  The  variety 
of  it  is  wonderful.  You  see  that  the  world  is  every  where  full  of 
many  kinds  of  animals,  making  it  a very  busy  world.  I do  not 
believe  that  you  have  ever  thought  how  different  they  are  from 
each  other.  I will  therefore  tell  you  a little  about  this. 

See  what  a difference  there  is  between  man  and  some  animals. 
Look  at  the  oyster.  He  lives  in  the  water,  shut  up  in  his  rough 
shell.  He  is  no  traveler.  He  has  no  eyes  to  see  sights  with. 
He  has  no  sense  of  smell.  He  has  taste  for  his  food,  and,  no 
doubt,  enjoys  it.  He  has  the  sense  of  touch ; this  he  needs, 
both  to  manage  his  food  and  to  guard  himself  against  harm. 
As  he  does  not  move  about,  and  has  no  feet  or  hands,  he  has 
but  few  muscles.  He  has  one  to  shut  up  his  shell  tight,  which 
he  does  when  he  is  alarmed.  His  brain  and  nerves  are  very 
small  affairs,  for  he  has  little  use  for  such  things. 

There  is  little  machinery,  then,  in  an  oyster,  as  you  compare  it 
with  the  machinery  in  your  body ; and  it  is  simply  because  he 
does  not  need  so  much  as  you  do.  If  he  had  needed  more,  God 


92 


THE  VARIETY  OF  MACHINERY  IN  ANIMALS. 


The  hydra— all  stomach  and  arms. 


How  it  acts  when  alarmed. 


would  have  given  it  to  him.  But  there  is,  after  all,  considerable 
machinery  even  in  the  oyster.  He  has  machinery  for  digesting 
his  food.  He  has  circulating  machinery — a heart  with  its  arteries 
and  veins.  And  he  has  gills  like  fishes,  by  which  his  blood  is 
aired  by  the  air  in  the  water.  Then  he  has  a few  muscles,  some 
nerves,  and  a sort  of  brain. 

Look,  now,  at  another  animal  that  has  less  contrivances  in  him 
than  the  oyster.  Look  at  the  hydra. 
This  is  a very  little  animal  which  is  found 
in  ponds,  sticking  to  a straw  or  stick  by  a 
sort  of  sucker.  Here  is  a representation 
of  it.  The  small  figure  shows  it  of  its 
natural  size.  The  larger  figure  shows  it 
as  magnified  by  the  microscope.  This 
animal  is  little  else  than  a stomach  with 
long  arms.  We  can  turn  the  body  of 
it — that  is,  the  stomach,  inside  out,  and 
the  animal  will  do  as  well  as  before.  The 
arms  are  merely  to  catch  things,  as  worms 
and  insects,  which  they  put  into  the  mouth 
of  the  stomach,  marked  a . One  of  the  arms  is  represented  as 
having  caught  something,  which  it  is  about  to  put  into  this  mouth. 
When  the  little  creature  is  alarmed,  he  gathers  up  all  his  arms 
around  his  stomach,  and  looks  like  a little  ball.  No  brain  has 
ever  been  discovered  in  him,  but  it  is  plain  that  he  thinks  some 
in  catching  his  food,  and  in  gathering  himself  into  a ball  to  es- 
cape notice.  He  probably  has  a brain  to  think  with,  though  it 


THE  VARIETY  OF  MACHINERY  IN  ANIMALS. 


93 


One  of  the  arms  of  the  hydra  magnified.  Contrivances  in  animals  endless. 

is  so  small  that  it  is  not  to  be  seen  with  the  most  powerful  mi- 
croscope. 

Here  is  one  of  the  arms  of  this  animal  as  seen  with  a 
powerful  microscope.  It  is  made  up  of  little  cells  or  blad- 
der-like  things.  How  it  is  that  these  make  the  different 
motions  of  this  arm  we  do  not  know. 

The  two  animals  that  I have  just  told  you  about  are 
very  unlike  to  man,  but  they  are  not  more  so  than  a mul- 
titude of  others.  The  variety  in  the  shapes  of  animals 
and  in  the  arrangements  of  their  different  parts  is  almost 
endless ; but,  with  all  this  variety,  all  are  alike  in  some 
things.  All  have  organs  to  digest  their  food  with,  and 
organs  to  circulate  their  blood.  All  have  brains  to  think 
with,  and  nerves  to  use  in  finding  out  about  what  is 
around  them,  and  in  making  their  muscles  work. 

The  variety  in  the  contrivances  in  animals  is  so  great, 
that  when  one  undertakes  to  study  them,  he  continually  finds 
something  new.  And  one  thing  is  always  true  of  the  machinery  in 
animals — it  is  perfect.  It  is  always  exactly  fitted  to  do  just  what 
it  is  made  for.  No  machinery  that  man  ever  made  is  equal  to  it. 

Animals  are  suited  in  their  shapes  and  arrangements  to  the  way 
in  which  they  live.  Some  are  made  to  fly.  These  have  wings ; 
and  the  wings  exhibit  great  variety,  as  you  see  if  you  look  at  the 
birds  and  insects  that  are  so  busy  in  the  air.  Some  animals  are 
made  to  live  in  the  water ; most  of  these  have  a broad  tail  and 
fins  to  swim  with,  but  some  crawl,  as  the  crab.  Some  float  about, 
like  the  hydra,  and  some  lie  still,  like  the  oyster. 


94 


THE  VARIETY  OF  MACHINERY  IN  ANIMALS. 


How  different  animals  move.  The  organs  of  some  animals  like  those  of  man. 

Some  animals  walk  about  on  the  ground.  Man  is  the  only  an- 
imal that  walks  about  erect  upon  two  feet.  The  beasts,  you  know, 
are  four-footed.  The  monkey  is  one  of  the  most  singular  of 
beasts : he  has  neither  feet  nor  hands,  but  some  things  which  are 
like  both.  With  these  he  is  more  of  a climber  than  a walker. 
There  are  many  small  animals  that  walk  on  many  feet.  And  the 
snakes,  without  any  feet,  crawl  along  the  ground.  Some  animals 

hop,  as  the  frog  and  toad.  Some 
go  by  a long  jump,  as  the  grass- 
hopper, and  the  troublesome  lit- 
tle flea,  which  is  here  represented 
as  magnified  by  the  microscope. 
Very  strong  muscles  must  this 
animal  have  to  enable  it  to  make 
such  leaps  with  its  long,  crook- 
ed legs. 

There  is  great  variety  in  the  coverings  of  animals.  But  I will 
tell  you  about  these  in  another  chapter. 

Some  animals  are  much  more  like  man  than  others.  The  bones, 
and  muscles,  and  nerves,  and  heart,  and  brain  of  some  are  very 
much  like  the  same  things  in  our  bodies.  This  is  true  of  many 
of  the  four-footed  animals.  You  can  therefore  know  how  the  parts 
of  the  machinery  inside  of  you  look  by  observing  the  different 
parts  of  animals  at  the  meat-market.  In  a calf’s  head  you  can 
see  how  your  brain  looks.  Its  lungs,  or  lights,  as  they  are  com- 
monly called,  are  very  much  like  yours,  and  its  heart  is  quite  like 
your  heart.  And  so  of  other  parts. 


THE  VARIETY  OF  MACHINERY  IN  ANIMALS. 


95 


Variety  of  motion  in  man. 


Has  more  muscles  than  any  other  animal. 


The  more  an  animal  moves,  the  more  muscles  he  has  to  make 
his  motions  with.  Man  has  more  variety  of  motion  than  any 
other  animal,  and  so  has  more  muscles.  God  gives  to  each  ani- 
mal just  the  machinery  that  it  needs.  Some  have  machinery  that 
others  do  not  have.  Some  have  very  little,  while  others  have  a 
great  deal.  In  our  bodies  there  is  a great  variety  of  machinery, 
for  our  busy  minds  want  to  know  and  to  do  very  many  things. 

The  mind  of  man  does  more  things  with  the  hand  than  with 
any  other  part  of  its  machinery.  I shall  therefore  now  go  on  to 
tell  you  about  the  hand,  and  then  about  those  things  that,  in  dif- 
ferent animals,  answer  somewhat  in  place  of  hands. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  variety  of  machinery  in  the  bodies  of  animals  ? 
What  senses  has  the  oyster  ? Why  does  he  have  these  ? What  is  said  of  his  mus- 
cles ? What  of  his  brain  and  nerves  ? Why  has  not  the  oyster  as  much  machinery 
in  his  body  as  there  is  in  yours?  What  machinery  has  he?  Tell  all  about  the 
hydra.  What  is  said  about  his  brain  ? What  are  his  arms  made  of?  In  what 
things  are  all  animals  alike  ? How  does  the  machinery  in  animals  compare  with 
that  made  by  man  ? What  are  the  shapes  and  machinery  of  animals  suited  to  ? 
Tell  about  animals  that  fly — those  that  live  in  the  water — those  that  walk.  What 
ts  said  about  man  ? What  is  said  about  the  monkey  ? Mention  some  animals 
that  hop — some  that  make  a long  jump — those  that  crawl  without  feet.  What  an- 
imals are  much  like  man,  and  in  what  ? Why  is  there  so  great  a variety  of  ma- 
chinery in  our  bodies  ? What  part  of  the  machinery  do  our  minds  use  most  ? 


96 


THE  HAND. 


The  hand  a set  of  machinery. 


It  does  both  coarse  and  fine  work. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

THE  HAND. 

Man  is  the  only  animal  that  has  a hand.  The  monkey  has 
something  like  a hand  ; but,  if  you  watch  him  as  he  takes  things, 
you  will  see  that  it  is  a very  awkward  and  bungling  thing  com- 
pared with  your  hand. 

The  hand  is  often  said  to  be  a wonderful  instrument . I would 
rather  say  that  it  is  a wonderful  set  of  machinery . An  instru- 
ment or  tool  is  commonly  fitted  to  do  only  one  thing,  as  a chisel, 
a spade,  a saw,  etc.  But  how  many  and  how  different  things  can 
be  done  with  the  hand ! 

Let  us  look  at  some  things  that  the  hand  can  do.  See  t;he 
blacksmith  wielding  the  heavy  hammer ; how  strongly  his  hand 
grasps  the  handle  ! See  how  it  is  done.  The  fingers  and  thumb 
are  bent  by  those  large  muscles  that  are  up  in  the  arm.  Now 
these  same  fingers,  that  grasp  the  hammer  so  strongly,  and  do  this 
heavy  Avork,  can  be  trained  to  do  work  of  the  lightest  and  finest 
kind.  They  can  take  hold  of  the  pen  and  write.  They  can  move 
the  tool  of  the  engraver,  making  those  fine  lines  that  you  some- 
times see. 

In  the  machines  that  man  makes  there  is  no  such  changing  from) 
coarse,  heavy  work  to  that  which  is  fine  and  delicate.  A machine 
that  does  heavy  work  does  that  only,  and  one  that  does  fine  work 
does  that  only.  No  man  ever  made  a machine  that  would  pul] 


THE  HAND. 


Variety  of  things  done  by  the  hand.  The  most  common  things  that  it  docs  wonderful. 


a large  rope  one  moment,  and  the  next  pull  a fine  thread,  and  do 
the  one  just  as  well  as  the  other.  But  that  wonderful  machine, 
the  hand,  can  do  this.  It  can  grasp  the  rope  firmly,  and  yet  can 
take  between  its  thumb  and  finger  a thread  so  fine  that  you  can 
hardly  see  it. 

But  the  difference  in  the  work  of  the  hand  is  not  merely  in 
coarseness  and  fineness.  It  can  do  a great  many  different  kinds 
of  coarse  work  and  a great  many  different  kinds  of  fine  work. 
The  hand  works  very  differently  with  different  things.  See  how 
differently  it  manages  a rope,  a hammer,  a spade,  a hoe,  a knife 
and  fork,  etc.  It  takes  hold  of  them  in  different  ways  to  work 
them.  And  then,  as  to  fine  work,  how  differently  it  manages  a 
pen,  an  engraver’s  tool,  a thread,  a needle,  etc. 

If  you  watch  people  as  they  do  different  things,  you  can  get 
some  idea  of  the  variety  of  the  work  that  the  hand  can  perform. 
See  how  differently  the  fingers  are  continually  placed  as  one  is 
playing  on  an  instrument.  You  can  see  very  well  what  a variety 
of  shapes  the  hand  can  be  put  into  if  you  observe  a deaf  and  dumb 
person  talking  with  his  fingers.  On  the  following  page  is  a rep- 
resentation of  the  different  ways  in  which  the  letters  are  made. 

The  most  common  things  that  we  do  with  our  hands  are  really 
wonderful.  Watch  one  as  he  is  buttoning  up  his  coat : how  easily 
his  fingers  do  it ; and  yet  it  is  a wonderful  performance.  Suppose 
a man  should  try  to  make  a machine,  shaped  like  the  hand,  that 
would  do  the  same  thing,  do  you  think  that  he  would  succeed  ? 
It  would  be  very  strange  if  he  did.  Suppose,  however,  that,  after 
working  a long  time,  he  did  really  succeed,  and  that  you  saw  his 
< G 


98 


THE  HAND. 


Variety  of  shapes  which  the  hand  takes  in  the  deaf  and  dumb  alphabet. 


g 


h i 


3 


The  j is  made  by  raising  the  little  finger  as  represented,  and  then  moving  it  as 
if  to  make  the  tail  of  the  letter.  The  z is  made  by  raising  the  forefinger,  and  moving 
it  in  a zigzag  way. 


THE  HAND. 


99 


A buttoning  machine. 


The  hand  an  instrument  of  feeling. 


machine,  with  its  fingers  and  thumb,  put  a button  through  a but- 
ton-hole in  the  same  way  that  you  do  it  with  your  fingers.  Do 
you  think  that  it  could  manage  buttons  of  all  sizes,  large,  middle- 
sized,  and  small  ? No ; it  could  only  button  those  that  are  of 
one  size.  The  different  sized  buttons  would  require  different  ma- 
chines ; and,  besides,  a machine  that  could  button  up  could  not 
unbutton.  But  your  hand  is  a machine  that,  besides  buttoning 
and  unbuttoning  buttons  of  various  sizes,  is  doing  continually  a 
great  variety  of  things  that  machines  can  not  do.  No  machine 
can  take  up  a pen  and  write,  or  even  move  a stick  about  as  your 
hand  can.  When  some  ingenious  man  makes  a machine  that  can 
do  any  one  thing  like  wrhat  the  hand  does,  it  excites  our  wonder, 
and  we  say,  How  curious  ! how  wonderful ! how  much  like  a hand 
it  works ! 

But  the  hand  is  not  merely  a machine  that  performs  a great 
many  motions ; it  is  also  an  instrument  with  which  the  mind 
feels  things.  And  what  a delicate  instrument  it  is  for  this  pur- 
pose! How  small  are  the  things  that  you  sometimes  feel  with 
the  point  of  the  finger ! As  you  pass  it  over  a smooth  surfaoe,  the 
slightest  roughness  is  felt.  A great  deal  of  knowledge,  as  I told 
you  in  Chapter  XI Y.,  gets  into  your  mind  through  the  tips  of 
your  fingers.  Messages  are  going  from  them  continually  by  the 
nerves  to  the  mind  in  the  brain.  The  blind,  I have  told  you,  read 
with  their  fingers.  They  pass  them  over  raised  letters,  and  the 
nerves  of  the  fingers  tell  the  mind  what  the  letters  are,  just  as  the 
nerves  of  your  eyes  are  now  telling  your  mind  what  the  letters  are 
in  this  book. 


100 


THE  HAND. 


The  hand  guided  by  the  touch.  How  it  differs  from  machines  made  by  man. 

Now,  while  the  hand  is  performing  its  different  motions  as  a ma- 
chine, it  is  generally  very  much  guided  by  this  sense  of  touch. 
If  your  hand  had  no  feeling  in  it,  it  would  make  awkward  busi- 
ness even  in  such  a simple  operation  as  buttoning ; and  it  could 
not  do  it  at  all  if  you  did  not  look  on  all  the  time  that  it  was  do- 
ing it.  Your  eye-nerves  would  have  to  take  the  place  of  your 
finger-nerves,  as  in  the  reading  of  the  blind  the  finger-nerves  take 
the  place  of  the  eye-nerves.  As  it  is,  you  need  not  look  at  your 
fingers  while  they  are  buttoning,  for  they  are  guided  by  the  feel 
ing  that  is  in  them. 

There  was  once  a woman  who  lost  the  use  of  one  arm,  and  at 
the  same  time  lost  all  her  feeling  in  the  other.  She  had  a baby 
to  take  care  of.  She  could  hold  it  with  the  arm  that  had  no  feel- 
ing, because  she  could  work  the  muscles  in  that  arm,  but  she 
could  not  do  it  without  looking  at  it  all  the  time.  If  she  looked 
away,  the  arm  would  stop  holding  the  baby  and  let  it  fall,  for  it 
could  not  feel  that  it  was  there.  In  her  case  the  eye-nerves  had 
to  keep  watch  in  place  of  the  arm-nerves  that  could  not  feel. 

You  see  that  the  hand  is  different  from  the  machines  that  man 
makes  in  two  things — in  the  variety  of  things  that  it  can  do,  and 
in  the  connection  which  it  has  with  the  mind  by  the  nerves. 
While  the  mind,  by  the  nerves,  makes  it  do  things,  it  knows  by 
other  nerves  all  the  time  whether  it  is  doing  them  right. 

See,  now,  what  are  the  parts  of  this  wonderful  set  of  machinery. 
*There  are  in  the  hand  and  arm  thirty  bones.  There  are  about 
fifty  muscles,  and  all  these  are  connected  with  the  brain  by  nerves. 
It  is  by  them  that  the  mind  makes  the  muscles  perform  all  the 


THE  HAND. 


101 


IIow  to  get  an  idea  of  the  variety  of  things  which  the  hand  can  do. 


various  motions  of  the  hand  and  fingers,  and  then  there  are  other 
nerves  that  tell  the  mind  what  is  felt  in  any  part  of  this  machinery. 

I have  mentioned  in  this  chapter  a few  of  the  things  that  are 
done  by  the  hand,  but  there  is  no  end  to  the  things  that  can  be 
done  by  this  set  of  machinery.  You  can  get  some  idea  of  this  in 
two  ways — by  moving  your  hands  and  fingers  about  in  all  sorts 
of  ways,  and  by  thinking  of  as  many  as  you  can  of  the  different 
things  that  people,  in  work  or  in  play,  do  with  their  hands.  And 
observe  in  how  many  more  ways  the  hand  is  useful  than  the  foot 
is.  The  foot  has  but  a few  things  to  do  compared  with  the  muh 
titude  of  things  done  by  the  hand. 

Questions. — What  animal  has  something  like  a hand?  How  does  it  compare 
with  your  hand  ? Why  would  you  call  the  hand  a set  of  machinery  rather  than  an 
instrument  ? What  is  said  about  the  fingers  doing  heavy  and  light  work  ? Tell 
about  the  rope  and  the  thread.  What  is  said  about  the  different  kinds  of  both 
coarse  and  fine  work  that  the  hand  can  do  ? What  is  said  about  playing  on  an  in- 
strument? What  is  said  of  the  alphabet  of  the  deaf  and  dumb?  What  is  said 
about  the  common  things  done  continually  by  the  hand  ? What  is  said  of  the  hand 
as  an  instrument  for  feeling  ? If  your  hand  had  no  feeling,  what  would  happen  ? 
Tell  about  the  woman  who  lost  the  power  of  motion  in  one  arm  and  feeling  in  the 
other.  In  what  two' things  is  the  hand  different  from  the  machines  made  by  man? 
What  are  the  parts  of  the  machinery  of  the  hand  ? In  what  two  ways  can  you  get 
an  idea  of  the  variety  of  things  that  this  machinery  can  do? 


102 


WHAT  ANIMALS  USE  FOE  HANDS. 


How  teeth  can  serve  in  place  of  hands. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

WHAT  ANIMALS  USE  FOR  HANDS. 

Though  animals  do  not  have  hands,  they  have  different  parts 
which  they  use  to  do  some  of  the  same  things  that  we  do  witli 
our  hands.  I will  tell  you  about  some  of  these  in  this  chapter. 


You  see  this  dog  dragging  along  a rope  which  he  holds  in  his 
mouth.  He  is  making  his  teeth  answer  in  place  of  hands.  Dogs 
always  do  this  when  they  carry  things.  They  can  not  carry  them 
in  any  other  way.  You  carry  a basket  along  in  your  hand,  but 


WIIAT  ANIMALS  USE  FOR  HANDS. 


103 


Cropping  grass.  Anecdotes  of  horses. 

the  dog  takes  it  between  his  teeth,  because  he  has  no  hand  as  you 
have. 

I have  told  you,  in  another  chapter,  how  the  cow  and  the  horse 
crop  the  grass.  They  do  it,  you  know,  with  their  front  teeth. 
They  take  up  almost  any  kind  of  food — a potato,  an  apple — with 
these  teeth.  These  teeth,  then,  answer  for  hands  to  the  cow  and 
horse.  Their  lips  answer  also  the  same  purpose  in  many  cases. 
The  horse  gathers  his  oats  into  his  mouth  with  the  lips.  The  lips 
are  for  hands  to  such  animals  in  another  respect.  They  feel 
things  with  their  lips  just  as  we  do  with  the  tips  of  our  fingers. 

My  horse  once,  in  cropping  some  grass,  took  hold  of  some  that 
was  so  stout  and  so  loose  in  the  earth  that  he  pulled  it  up  by  the 
roots.  As  he  ate  it  the  dirt  troubled  him.  He  therefore  knocked 
the  grass  several  times  against  the  fence,  holding  it  firmly  in  his 
teeth,  and  thus  got  the  dirt  out,  just  as  people  do  out  of  a mat 
when  they  strike  it  against  any  thing.  I once  knew  a horse  that 
would  lift  a latch  or  shove  a bolt  with  his  front  teeth  as  readily 
as  you  would  with  your  hand.  He  would  get  out  of  the  barn- 
yard in  this  way.  But  this  was  at  length  prevented  by  a very 
simple  contrivance.  A piece  of  iron  was  fixed  in  such  a manner 
at  the  end  of  the  bolt  that  you  could  not  shove  the  bolt  unless 
you  raised  the  iron  at  the  same  time.  Probably  this  puzzled  the 
horse’s  brain.  Even  if  he  understood  it,  he  could  not  manage  the 
two  things  together.  I have  heard  about  a horse  that  would,  take 
hold  of  a pump-handle  with  his  teeth  and  pump  water  into  a 
trough  when  he  wanted  to  drink.  This  was  in  a pasture  where 
there  were  several  horses ; and  what  is  very  curious,  the  other 


104 


WHAT  ANIMALS  USE  FOR  HANDS. 


Monkeys  great  climbers.  What  cats  use  in  place  of  hands. 

horses,  when  they  wanted  to  drink,  would,  if  they  found  the  trough 
empty,  tease  this  horse  that  knew  how  to  pump ; they  would  get 
around  him,  and  bite  and  kick  him  till  he  would  pump  some  water 
for  them. 

Monkeys  have  four  things  like 
hands.  They  are  half  way  be- 
tween hands  and  feet.  With 
these  they  are  very  skillful  at 
climbing.  There  are  some  kinds 
of  monkeys,  as  the  one  repre- 
sented here,  that  use  their  tails 
in  climbing  as  a sort  of  fifth 
hand. 

The  cat  uses  for  hands  some- 
times her  paws,  with  their  sharp 
claws,  sometimes  her  teeth,  and 
sometimes  both  together.  She 
climbs  with  her  claws.  She 
catches  things  with  them — mice, 
rats,  or  any  thing  that  you  hold  out  for  her  to  run  after.  She 
strikes  with  her  paws,  just  as  angry  children  and  men  sometimes 
do  with  their  hands.  When  the  cat  moves  her  kittens  from  one 
place  to  another,  she  takes  them  up  with  her  teeth  by  the  nttpe  of 
the  neck.  There  is  no  other  way  in  which  she  can  do  it.  She 
can  not  walk  on  her  hind  feet  and  carry  them  with  her  fore  paws. 
It  seems  as  if  it  would  hurt  a kitten  to  carry  it  in  the  way  that 
she  does,  but  it  does  not. 


WHAT  ANIMALS  USE  FOR  HANDS. 


105 


Tho  dormouse.  The  humming-bird’s  bill.  The  bill  of  a duck. 

When  a squirrel  nibbles  a 
nut  to  make  a hole  in  it,  he 
holds  it  between  his  two  fore 
paws  like  hands.  So  also 
does  the  dormouse,  which  you 
see  here. 

The  bill  of  a bird  is  used 
as  its  hand.  It  gathers  with 
it  its  food  to  put  into  its  crop.  When  you  throw  corn  out  to 
the  hens,  how  fast  they  pick  it  up,  and  send  it  down  into  their 
crops  to  be  well  soaked ! The  humming-bird  has  a very  long 
bill,  and  in  it  lies  a long,  slender,  and  very  delicate  tongue.  As 
he  poises  himself  in  the  air  before  a flower,  his  wings  fluttering 
so  quickly  that  you  can  not  see  them,  he  runs  his  bill  into  the 
bottom  of  the  flower  where  the  honey  is,  and  puts'  his  little  long 
tongue  into  it. 

The  bill  of  the  duck  is  made  in  a peculiar  way.  You  know  that 
it  gets  its  food  under  water  in  the  mud.  It  can  not  see,  therefore, 
what  it  gets.  It  lias  to  work  altogether  by  feeling,  and  it  has 

nerves  in  its  bill  for 
this  purpose.  Here 
is  a picture  of  its  bill, 
showing  the  nerves 
branching  out  on  it. 
You  see,  too,  a row 
of  pointed  things  all  around  the  edge.  They  look  like  teeth,  but 
they  are  not  teeth.  They  are  used  by  the  duck  in  finding  its  food. 


106 


WHAT  ANIMALS  USE  FOR  HANDS. 


The  power  of  the  elephant’s  trunk  and  the  variety  of  thirgs  it  can  do. 

It  manages  in  this  way : it  thrusts  its  bill  down,  and  as  it  takes  it 
up  it  is  full  of  mud.  Now  mixed  with  the  mud  are  things  which 
the  duck  lives  on.  The  nerves  tell  the  duck  what  is  good,  and  it 
lets  all  the  rest  go  out  between  the  prickles.  It  is  a sort  of  sift- 
ing operation,  the  nerves  in  the  sieve  taking  good  care  that  noth- 
ing good  shall  pass  out. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  things  used  in  place  of  a hand  is 
the  trunk  of  the  elephant.  The  variety  of  uses  to  which  the  ele- 
phant puts  this  organ  is  very  wonderful.  It  can  strike  very  heavy 
blows  with  it.  It  can  wrench  off  branches  of  trees,  or  even  pull 
up  trees  by  the  roots,  by  winding  its  trunk  around  them  to  grasp 
them,  as  you  see  it  is  doing  here.  It  is  its  arm  with  which  it 


WHAT  ANIMALS  USE  FOR  HANDS. 


107 


The  elephant’s  trunk  can  do  little  things  as  well  as  great. 


carries  its  young.  It  is  amusing  to  see  an  old  elephant  carefully 
wind  its  trunk  around  a new-born  elephant,  and  carry  it  gently 
along. 

But  the  elephant  can  also  do  some  very  little  things  with  his 
trunk.  You  see  in  this  picture  that  there  is  a sort 
of  finger  at  the  very  end  of  the  trunk.  It  is  a very 
nimble  finger,  and  with  it  this  monstrous  animal  can 
do  a great  variety  of  little  things.  He  will  take  with 
it  little  bits  of  bread,  and  other  kinds  of  food  that 
you  hand  to  him,  and  put  them  into  his  mouth.  He 
will  take  up  a piece  of  money  from  the  ground  as  easi- 
ly as  you  can  with  your  fingers.  It  is  with  this  finger,  too,  that 
he  feels  of  things  just  as  you  do  with  your  fingers.  I once  saw 
an  elephant  take  a whip  with  this  fingered  end  of  his  trunk,  and 
use  it  as  handily  as  a teamster,  very  much  to  the  amusement  of 
the  spectators. 

The  elephant  can  reach  a considerable  distance  with  his  trunk. 
And  this  is  necessary,  because  he  has  so  very  short  a neck.  He 
could  not  get  at  his  food  without  his  long  trunk.  Observe,  too, 
how  he  can  turn  this  trunk  about  in  every  direction,  and  twist  it 
about  in  every  way.  It  is  really  a wonderful  piece  of  machinery. 
Cuvier,  a great  French  anatomist,  says  that  there  are  over  thirty 
thousand  little  muscles  in  it.  All  this  army  of  muscles  receive 
their  orders  by  nerves  from  the  mind  in  the  brain,  and  how  well 
they  obey  them ! 

You  see  that  there  are  two  holes  in  the  end  of  the  trunk.  Into 
these  he  can  suck  water,  and  thus  fill  his  trunk  with  it.  Then  he 


108 


WIIAT  ANIMALS  USE  FOR  HANDS. 


The  elephant  and  the  tailor. 

can  turn  the  end  of  his  trunk  into  his  mouth  and  let  the  water  run 
down  his  throat.  But  sometimes  he  uses  the  water  in  his  trunk 
in  another  way ; he  blows  it  out  through  his  trunk  with  great 
force.  He  does  this  when  he  wants  to  wash  himself,  directing  his 
trunk  in  such  a way  that  the  water  will  pour  over  him.  He  some- 
times blows  the  water  out  in  play,  for  even  such  great  animals 
have  sports  like  children.  Sometimes,  too,  he  blows  the  water  on 
people  that  he  does  not  like.  You  perhaps  have  read  the  story 
of  the  tailor  who  pricked  the  trunk  of  an  elephant  with  his  needle. 
The  elephant,  as  he  was  passing,  put  his  trunk  into  the  shop  win- 
dow, hoping  that  the  tailor  would  give  him  something  to  eat.  He 
was  angry  at  being  pricked,  and  was  determined  to  make  the  man 
sorry  for  doing  such  an  unkind  act.  As  his  keeper  led  him  back 
past  the  same  window,  he  poured  upon  the  tailor  his  trunk  full  of 
dirty  water,  which  he  had  taken  from  a puddle  for  this  purpose. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  dog  ? What  answer  for  hands  to  the  cow  and 
the  horse  ? Tell  the  anecdotes  about  horses.  What  does  the  cat  use  for  hands,  and 
how  ? What  is  said  about  the  squirrel  and  dormouse  ? What  is  the  bird’s  hand  ? 
Tell  about  feeding  the  hens.  Tell  about  the  bill  of  the  duck.  What  is  told  of  the 
humming-bird  ? Mention  some  of  the  variety  of  uses  to  which  the  elephant  can 
put  his  trunk.  What  is  said  about  the  finger  on  the  end  of  it  ? Why  does  the  el- 
ephant need  so  long  a trunk  ? What  is  said  about  the  muscles  in  it  ? How  does 
the  elephant  drink?  How  does  he  wash  himself?  Tell  about  the  tailor. 


TIIE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 


109 


Man  alone  makes  tools. 


Animals  have  some  kinds  of  tools  ready  madn. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 

Man  is  the  only  animal  that  makes  tools  to  use.  God  has 
given  him  a mind  that  can  contrive  tools,  and  he  has  also  given 
him  hands  by  which  he  can  use  them.  But  he  has  given  no  such 
mind  to  other  animals,  and  therefore  he  has  not  given  them  hands. 
They  do  not  know  enough  to  make  tools,  and  so  hands  are  not 
needed  by  them. 

But,  though  other  animals  do  not  make  tools,  they  have  tools 
which  they  use.  God  has  given  them  ready  made,  as  we  may 
say,  such  tools  as  they  need.  Let  us  look,  then,  at  some  of  the 
tools  that  we  find  in  different  animals. 

You  see  a man  in  the 
stern  or  hinder  end  of  a 
small  boat.  He  is  scull- 
ing, as  it  is  called.  He 
is  making  the  boat  go 
by  working  the  oar  to 
the  one  side  and  the 
other.  The  oar  is  the 
tool  or  instrument  by 
which  he  does  it.  Now 
a fish  has  an  instru- 
ment like  this,  by  which 


110 


THE  TOOLS  OP  ANIMALS. 


The  tail  of  a fish  a sculling-oar.  The  drill  of  the  woodpecker. 

he  goes  through  the  water.  His  tail  is  like  the  sculling-oar  that 
man  has  contrived,  and  which  he  uses  with  his  hands.  If  you 
watch  the  fish  as  he  goes  through  the  water,  you  will  see  that  he 
moves  it  to  one  side  and  the  other  as  the  man  does  his  oar ; and 
while  he  goes  ahead  by  means  of  his  tail,  he  uses  his  fins  mostly 
as  balancers  to  guide  his  motion.  He  moves  them  rather  gently 
except  when  he  wants  to  change  his  course  quickly.  When  he 
is  moving  along  fast,  and  wants  to  stop,  he  makes  his  fins  stand 
out  straight  on  each  side.  This  is  just  as  rowers  in  a boat  use 
their  oars  when  they  want  to  stop  the  boat. 

You  see  a man  drilling  a hole  in  a rock,  and  you  hear  the  sound 
of  the  tool  as  it  goes  click,  click,  all  the  while.  The  woodpecker 
has  a drill  that  works  in  the  same  way.  With  his  bill  he  drills 
holes  in  the  trees,  and  you  hear  the  sound  of  his  tool  as  you  do 
that  of  the  tool  of  the  rock-blaster.  It  is  a sort  of  knocking  sound 
repeated  many  times  very  quickly. 

What  do  you  think  that  the  woodpecker  drills  holes  for?  It 
is  to  get  at  worms  and  insects,  which  he  eats.  These  are  in  the 
bark  and  wood  of  dead  trunks  and  branches  of  trees.  The  wood- 
pecker knows  this,  and  so  drills  to  find  thorn.  He  does  not  drill 
into  live  bark  and  wood,  for  he  knows  that  there  are  generally  no 
worms  or  insects  there. 

But  the  woodpecker’s  instrument  is  something  more  than  a 
drill.  It  is  a drill  with  another  instrument  inside  of  it.  This 
instrument  is  for  pulling  out  the  insect  or  worm  that  he  finds  in 
drilling.  It  is  shown  in  the  following  figure.  It  is  a very  long, 
straight  tongue,  and  ends  in  a bony  thorn.  This  is,  as  you  see, 


THE  TOOLS  OP  ANIMALS. 


Ill 


Tongue  and  claws  of  the  woodpecker.  Digging  tools  of  the  elephant,  the  hen,  and  the  pig. 

armed  with  sharp  teeth 
pointing  backward,  like 
^ the  barbs  of  a fish-hook. 
Here  are,  then,  two  in- 
struments or  tools  to- 
gether. And  the  way 
that  the  woodpecker 
manages  them  is  this  : while  he  is  drilling,  the  two  parts  of  the  bill 
are  closed  together,  making  a good  wedge-pointed  drill,  and  at  the 
same  time  a snug  case  for  the  insect-catcher.  As  soon  as  he 
comes  to  an  insect  he  opens  the  drill,  and  pushes  the  barbed  end 
of  his  long  tongue  into  the  insect,  and  draws  him  into  his  mouth. 

As  the  woodpecker  has  to  strike  so  hard  in  drilling,  the  bones 
of  his  skull  are  made  very  heavy  and  strong.  If  this  were  not 
so,  his  drilling  would  jar  his  brain  too  much.  And  another  thing 
is  to  be  observed:  while  he  is  drilling  he 
needs  to  stand  very  firmly.  He  must 
hold  on  tightly  to  the  tree,  or  lie  will  slip 
as  soon  as  he  begins  to  drill.  He  has, 
therefore,  such  claws  as  you  see  here  to  hold  on  with. 

Some  animals  have  tools  to  dig  with.  The  elephant,  you  know, 
has  long,  strong  tusks.  These  he  uses  in  digging  up  roots  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  from  the  ground  to  eat.  The  hen  digs  in  a small 
way  with  the  claws  of  her  feet,  to  find  grains  and  other  kinds  of 
food  that  happen  to  be  mingled  with  the  earth.  The  pig  can  dig 
with  its  snout.  It  does  not  have  much. use  for  this  when  shut  up 
in  its  pen  ; but  let  it  out,  and  see  how  it  will  root,  as  we  say.  It 


112 


THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 


The  mole’s  plowing  and  digging  tool  Ilis  habitation. 

does  this  to  find  things  in  the  ground  that  it  can  eat.  When 
the  pig  runs  wild,  it  roots  to  get  acorns  and  other  things  that  be- 
come mixed  up  with  the  earth. 

The  mole  has  a similar  contrivance  to  work  in  the  earth  with. 

This  animal  also  has  heavy  claws  with 
which  it  plows  and  digs.  Here  is  a fig- 
ure showing  the  bones  of  one  of  its  fore 
paws.  They  are  very  heavy  and  strong, 
and  are  worked  by  large  muscles.  The 
claws  on  its  fingers,  you  see,  are  very  powerful.  The  mole  does 
great  execution  with  this  digging  and  plowing  machine  in  mak- 
ing his  tunnels  and  galleries  in  the  ground. 

The  mole’s  habitation  is  a singular  affair.  It  consists  of  a large 
circular  room,  with  several  galleries  and  passages.  He  makes  all 
this  in  this  way.  He  first  heaps  a round  hill  or  mound,  pressing 
the  earth  to  make  it  very  solid  and  firm ; he  then  digs  out  his 
round  room,  where  he  lives,  and  the  passages.  You  can  under- 
stand how  he  arranges  these  by 
the  figure.  You  can  see  that 
there  are  two  circular  galleries, 
one  above  the  other,  and  that 
these  are  connected  together  by 
five  passages.  The  circular  room  is  connected  with  the  upper 
gallery  by  three  passages.  It  also,  you  see,  has  a deep  passage 
out  from  it  at  the  bottom,  which  opens  into  a passage  that  goes 
out  from  the  lower  gallery ; this  passage,  and  another  like  it  on 
the  other  side,  lead  out  into  the  open  air.  I suppose  that  the  use 


THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 


113 


How  the  woodchuck  digs.  IIow  beavers  build  their  cabins. 

of  all  these  winding  passages  is  to  enable  the  mole  to  keep  out  of 
the  way  of  those  who  want  to  catch  it. 

The  marmot,  or  woodchuck,  as  he  is  commonly  called,  is  a great 
digger.  He  digs  his  hole  where  he  lives  in  this  way.  He  loosens 
the  dirt  with  his  fore  paws,  using  his  teeth  also  when  the  earth  is 
very  hard,  or  where  any  roots  happen  to  be  in  the  way.  He  push- 
es back  the  dirt  as  he  loosens  it.  When  he  gets  a considerable 
heap,  what  do  you  think  that  he  does  with  it  ? He  shovels  it  out 
with  his  hinder  feet,  for  they  are  so  shaped  that  he  can  use  them 
as  shovels.  They  have  a strong  skin  between  the  toes,  so  that 
when  the  toes  are  spread  out  the  feet  answer  very  well  to  shovel 
dirt  with. 

Beavers  are  very  singular  animals.  They  do  not  live  alone, 

but  many  of  them  live  together. 
They  live  in  a sort  of  cabin, 
which  they  build  with  branch- 
es of  trees  and  mud,  the  mud 
answering  for  mortar.  In  gath- 
ering the  branches  they  often 
gnaw  them  off  with  their  sharp 
and  powerful  teeth.  They  are 
great  diggers.  They  dig  up 
the  earth  with  their  paws  to 
use  in  building  their  cabin.  It 
is  said  that  they  use  their  flat  tails  somewhat  as  masons  do  their 
trowels,  spatting  and  smoothing  the  coating  of  mud  as  they  put  it 
on.  The  tail,  which  you  see  is  very  stout,  answers  another  pur- 

2 H 


114 


THE  TOOLS  OP  ANIMALS. 


The  arrangement  of  the  cabins  and  dams  of  beavers. 

pose.  As  the  beaver  builds  the  wall  of  the  cabin,  when  it  gets 
rather  high  he  props  himself  up  on  his  tail  as  he  works. 

The  beavers  build  their  cabin  close  to  a stream  of  water,  and 
their  entrance  to  it  is  below,  so  that  they  have  to  go  down  under 
water  to  get  to  it ; and  a dam  is  built  to  keep  the  water  over  this 
entrance  of  the  proper  height.  If  it  were  not  for  this,  the  door  to 
the  cabin  might  get  closed  up  with  ice  if  the  water  should  get  low 
in  the  stream  during  the  winter.  This  dam  the  beavers  build  of 
branches  of  trees,  and  mud,  and  stones.  The  stones  are  used  to 
make  the  branches  stay  down.  In  the  cabin  there  are  two  rooms  : 
in  the  upper  one  they  live,  and  in  the  lower  one  they  stow  their 
food.  This  is  the  arrangement  of  these  animals  for  the  winter. 
In  the  summer  they  do  not  live  together  in  companies,  but  each 
one  makes  a burrow  for  itself.  Every  autumn  they  come  togeth- 
er, and  unite  in  building  their  dams  and  cabins. 

Questions. — Why  does  man  make  tools  ? Why  do  not  other  animals  make  them  ? 
Do  they  have  tools  ? How  is  the  swimming  of  a fish  like  sculling  ? What  does 
the  fish  do  with  his  fins  ? What  is  said  about  the  bill  of  the  woodpecker  ? What 
does  he  drill  for  ? Tell  about  his  tongue.  What  is  said  about  the  bones  of  his 
head  ? What  about  his  claws  ? What  is  said  about  the  digging  of  the  elephant— 
of  the  hen — of  the  pig?  How  does  the  mole  dig?  What  is  said  about  his  fore 
paws?  Describe  the  arrangement  of  the  mole’s  habitation.  How  does  the  wood- 
chuck dig?  How  does  he  shovel  away  the  dirt  that  he  digs  ? Tell  about  the  bea- 
vers. In  what  two  ways  do  they  use  their  tails  ? What  is  the  arrangement  ot  tp* 
cabin?  What  is  the  dam  for  ? 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 


115 


The  saw-fly. 


The  bee  that  cuts  leaves  so  curiously. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MORE  ABOUT  THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 

Insects  have  various  tools  or  instruments.  There  is  a fly  call- 
ed the  saw-fly,  because  it  really  has  a saw.  It  is  a very  nice  one, 
much  nicer  than  any  saw  that  man  ever  made.  The  fly  uses  the 
saw  to  make  a place  to  put  its  eggs,  where  they  will  be  secure. 
And  what  is  very  curious,  it  has  a sort  of  glue  with  which  it  fast- 
ens the  eggs  in  their  place. 

There  are  some  insects  that  have  cutting  instruments,  v/hich 
will  cut  as  well  as  you  can  with  scissors,  if  not  better.  There  is 
a bee  that  is  remarkable  in  this  respect.  It  has  also  a boring  tool. 
Its  nest  is  commonly  in  old,  half-decayed  wood.  It  clears  out  a 
space  in  it  with  its  boring  instrument ; it  then  sets  itself  to  work 
with  its  cutting  instrument  to  cut  out  pieces  of  leaves  to  line  t tig 
nest  and  make  the  cells  in  it.  These  are  cut  of  different  shapes, 
as  they  are  needed,  as  you  may  see  in  the  next  engraving.  Below 
the  leaves  you  see  the  nest  represented.  It  is  opened  by  taking 
off  some  of  the  wood,  and  there  you  see  the  lining  of  leaves.  Great 
pains  is  taken  by  the  bees  in  getting  each  piece  of  leaf  of  the  right 
shape  to  fit  well,  and  the  pieces  are  very  nicely  fastened  together.* 

There  are  some  animals  that  have  machinery  for  making  things. 

* A more  full  account  of  the  operations  of  this  little  animal  you  can  find  in  a 
book  published  by  Harper  and  Brothers,  entitled  Natural  History,  by  Uncle  Philip, 
which  I recommend  to  my  young  readers  as  a very  interesting  book  about  animals. 


116 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 


The  spinning  machinery  of  the  silk- worm  and  the  spider. 

All  the  silk  that  is  used 
in  the  world  is  made  by 
worms.  The  silk- worm  has 
a regular  set  of  machinery 
for  spinning  silk.  It  winds 
it  up  as  it  spins  it.  Then 
man  unwinds  it,  and  makes 
a great  variety  of  beautiful 
fabrics  with  this  silk  thread. 

The  spinning  machinery 
of  the  spider  is  much  finer 
than  that  of  the  silk-worm. 
The  thread  which  he  spins 
is  made  up  of  a multitude 
of  threads,  each  one  of  these 
coming  out  from  an  exceed- 
ingly small  hole  in  the  spider’s  body.  You  know  that  there  is  a 
large  number  of  fibres  or  threads  in  a rope.  So  it  is  with  the  spi- 
der’s rope,  for  his  thread  that  you  see,  small  as  it  is,  is  a rope  to 
him.  It  is  a rope  that  he  walks  on  like  a rope-dancer;  and  you 
may  sometimes  see  him  swinging  upon  it.  Sometimes,  too,  he 
lets  himself  down  from  some  height,  spinning  the  rope  that  holds 
him  as  he  goes  down.  When  he  does  this,  his  spinning  machine 
must  work  very  briskly. 

The  wasp  has  a paper  factory  in  him.  He  makes  his  paper  out 
of  fibres  of  wood,  which  he  picks  off,  I suppose,  with  his  teeth,  and 
gathers  them  into  a bundle.  He  makes  this  into  a soft  pulp  in 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 


117 


Paper-making  of  the  wasp.  Teeth.  Pumps  of  some  animals. 

some  way ; then,  from  this,  he  makes  the  paper  with  which  he 
builds  his  nest.  It  is  very  much,  you  know,  like  the  common 
brown  paper  that  man  makes.  The  wasps  work  in  companies, 
and  though  each  one  can  make  but  little  paper,  they  all  together 
make  their  nest  in  a very  little  time.  The  pulp  from  which  they 
make  their  paper  is  very  much  like  the  pulp  from  which  man  makes 
paper,  and  which  you  may  see  any  time  in  the  large  tubs  or  vats 
of  a paper  factory.  This  pulp  is  generally  made  from  rags  ground 
up  fine,  but  lately  wood  has  been  much  used.  Perhaps  the  hint 
was  taken  from  the  wasps,  who  were  the  earliest  paper-makers  in 
the  world. 

Animals  can  not  use  knives  and  forks,  as  we  do,  in  dividing  up 
their  food.  They  therefore  have  instruments  given  them  which 
do  this  very  well.  Those  long,  sharp  teeth  that  dogs,  cats,  tigers, 
etc.,  have,  answer  to  tear  to  pieces  the  flesh  they  eat,  as  thoroughly 
as  we  can  cut  it  up.  We  do  not  need  'such  teeth,  because  with 
instruments  contrived  by  man’s  mind  for  his  hands  to  use  we  cut 
up  the  food  sufficiently. 

I have  told  you  that  the  elephant  can  draw  up  water  into  his 
trunk.  His  trunk  is  therefore  like  the  tube  with  which  we  suck 
up  water  or  any  liquid.  And  it  is  like  a pump  too,  for,  as  I shall 
show  you  in  Part  Third,  water  is  raised  in  the  pump  just  as  it  is 
in  a tube  when  we  suck  through  it.  It  is  with  a pump  something 
like  the  elephant’s  that  many  insects  get  the  honey  from  the  flow- 
ers. This  pump  is  called  a proboscis.  It  is  with  such  an  instru- 
ment that  the  musquito  sucks  up  your  blood.  At  the  end  of  his 
pump  he  has  something  with  which  he  pierces  a hole  in  your  skin. 


118 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 


The  proboscis  in  some  insects.  The  proboscis  of  the  humming-bii-d. 

and  then  he  pumps  your  blood  up  into  his  stomach.  In  some  in- 
sects  the  proboscis  is  very  long,  as  you  see  here.  This  is  hol- 


low, and  with  it  the  insect  sucks  up  the  honey  from  very  deep 
flowers,  without  being  obliged  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  them. 

The  proboscis  is  commonly  coiled  up  when 
it  is  not  in  use.  Here  is  the  proboscis  of  a 
butterfly  coiled  up.  The  two  long  things  above 
it  are  feelers. 

The  tongue  of  the  humming-bird  is  really  a 
proboscis,  and  a very  curious  one  it  is  too.  It 
has  two  tubes  alongside  of  each  other,  like  the  two  barrels  of  a 
double-barreled  gun.  At  the  tip  of  the  tongue  these  tubes  are  a 
little  separated,  and  their  ends  are  shaped  like  spoons.  The  honey 
is  spooned  up,  as  we  may  say,  and  then  it  is  drawn  into  the 
mouth  through  the  long  tubes  of  the  tongue.  But  the  bird  uses 
its  tongue  in  another  way.  It  catches  insects  with  it,  for  it  lives 
on  these  as  well  as  on  honey.  It  does  it  in  this  way : the  two 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TOOLS  OP  ANIMALS. 


119 


Cat’s  tongue  a curry-comb.  How  the  heron  catches  fish. 

spoons  grasp  the  insect  like  a pair  of  tongs,  and  the  tongue,  bend- 
ing, puts  it  into  the  bird’s  mouth.  The  tongue,  then,  of  the  hum- 
ming-bird is  not  merely  one  instrument,  but  it  contains  several 
instruments  together — two  pumps,  two  spoons,  and  a pair  of  tongs. 

The  tongue  of  a cat  is  a singular  instrument.  It  is  her  curry- 
comb. For  this  purpose  it  is  rough,  as  you  will  find  if  you  feel 
it.  When  she  cleans  herself  so  industriously,  she  gets  off  the  dirt 
and  smooths  her  coat  just  as  the  hostler  cleans  and  smooths  the 
horse’s  coat  with  the  curry-comb.  Her  head  she  can  not  reach 
with  her  tongue,  and  so  she  has  to  make  her  fore  paws  answer  the 
purpose  instead. 

There  are  some  birds  that  live  on  fishes.  They  have  instru- 
ments, therefore,  purposely  for 
catching  them.  The  heron  is  a 
bird  of  this  kind.  He  manages 
in  this  way:  when  the  light  is 
dim,  either  at  dawn  or  when  there 
is  moonlight,  it  is  his  time  for 
going  a fishing.  He  will  stand, 
as  you  see  him  here,  in  shallow 
water,  so  stiff  and  so  still  that  he 
might  be  mistaken  for  a stump 
of  a tree  or  something  else.  He 
is  looking  steadily  and  patiently 
down  into  the  water,  and  the 
moment  a fish  comes  along,  down 
goes  his  sharp  bill,  and  off  he 


120 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 


The  tailor-bird.  The  wingless  bird. 

flies  to  his  nest  with  his  prey.  The  plumes  of  this  singular  bird 
are  beautiful,  and  are  very  highly  prized  as  ornaments. 

There  is  one  bird  that  lives  chiefly  on  oysters. 
It  has  a bill,  therefore,  with  which  it  can  open  an 
oyster-shell  as  skillfully  as  an  cysterman  can  with 
his  knife. 

Some  birds  can  sew  very  well  with  their  beaks 
and  feet.  There  is  one  bird  that  sews  so  well  that 
it  is  called  the  tailor  bird.  Here  is  its  nest  hid 
in  leaves  which  it  has  sewed  tog<^her.  It  does 
this  with  thread  which  it  makes  itself.  It  gets 
cotton  from  the  cotton-plant,  and  with  its  long, 
delicate  bill  and 
little  feet,  spins  it 
into  a thread.  It 
then  pierces  the 
holes  through  the 
leaves  with  its  bill, 
and,  passing  the  thread  through 
the  holes,  sews  them  together.  I 
believe  that  in  getting  the  thread 
through  the  holes  it  uses  both  its 
bill  and  its  feet. 

Here  is  a very  strange-looking 
bird.  It  has  no  wings.  It  has 
a very  long  bill,  which  it  uses  in 
gathering  its  food,  which  consists 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  TOOLS  OF  ANIMALS. 


121 


The  fish  that  shoots  insects  with  a squirt-gun. 


of  snails,  insects,  and  worms.  He  uses  his  bill  in  another  way. 
lie  often,  in  resting,  places  the  tip  of  his  bill  on  the  ground,  and 
thus  makes  the  same  use  of  his  bill  that  an  old  man  does  of  his 
cane  when  he  stands  leaning  upon  it. 

There  is  a fish  that  has  a singular  instrument.  It  is  a squirt- 
gun  for  shooting  insects.  It  can  shoot  them  not  only  when  they 
are  still,  but  when  they  are  flying.  It  watches  them  as  they  are 
flying  over  the  water,  and  hits  one  of  them,  whenever  it  can  get 
a chance,  with  a fine  stream  of  water  from  its  little  gun.  The 
insect,  stunned  with  the  blow,  falls  into  the  water,  and  the  fish 
eats  it. 

I could  give  you  a great  many  more  examples  of  the  different 
tools  that  we  find  in  animals,  but  these  are  sufficient.  You  can 
observe  other  examples  yourselves  as  you  look  at  different  animals. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  saw-fly  ? Tell  about  the  boring  and  cutting 
instruments  of  a certain  kind  of  bee.  What  is  said  about  silk-worms  ? What  about 
spiders  ? What  about  wasps  ? Why  do  some  animals  have  such  long,  sharp  teeth  ? 
What  kind  of  machine  is  an  elephant’s  trunk  ? What  is  the  proboscis  of  an  insect  ? 
Tell  about  the  tongue  of  the  humming-bird.  How  many  instruments  are  there  to- 
gether in  his  tongue  ? What  is  said  about  the  cat’s  tongue  ? Tell  about  the  heron. 
Tell  about  the  bird  that  lives  on  oysters.  What  is  told  about  the  tailor-bird  ? Tell 
about  the  bird  that  has  no  wings.  Tell  about  the  fish  that  shoots  insects  with  water. 


122 


INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK. 


Fighting  instruments  of  animals. 


Why  man  has  none  of  them. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK. 

Animals  have  various  instruments  for  defending  themselves. 
Some  have  claws,  some  horns,  some  hoofs,  some  spurs  and  beaks, 
some  powerful  teeth,  and  some  stings.  These  they  use  to  defend 
themselves  when  attacked. 

But  man  has  none  of  these  things.  Why  is  this  ? It  is  be- 
cause, as  I have  told  you  about  tools,  with  his  mind  he  can  con- 
trive instruments  of  defense,  and  with  his  hands  he  can  use  them. 
If  men  could  not  contrive  and  use  such  things  as  spears,  and 
swords,  and  guns,  they  would  stand  a poor  chance  with  some  of 
the  animals  if  obliged  to  contend  with  them.  A lion  or  tiger,  you 
know,  could  tear  the  stoutest  man  in  pieces  if  he  had  nothing  in 
his  hands  to  defend  himself. 

It  would  be  well  if  men  would  use  the  fighting  instruments 
which  they  make  only  for  defending  themselves.  But  they  often 
use  them  in  attacking  others,  just  as  beasts  do  their  weapons,  and 
sometimes  they  even  use  their  hands,  and  teeth,  and  nails  in  the 
same  way  that  beasts  do.  Hands  were  made  for  useful  work  and 
innocent  play ; but  they  are  often  used  to  strike  with.  Teeth  are 
given  to  us  to  eat  with ; but  children,  and  even  men  sometimes, 
bite  with  them  like  an  angry  beast.  Nails  are  given  us  for  vari- 
ous useful  purposes,  but  I have  known  children  to  use  them  in 
fighting*  as  beasts  do  their  claws  and  spurs. 


INSTRUMENTS  OP  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK. 


123 


Claw  and  beak  of  a cruel  bird.  The  vulture  and  the  lamb. 

The  fighting  instruments  of  some  birds  are  very  powerful. 
Here  are  a claw  and  a beak  of  a very 
cruel  bird.  How  fast  this  claw  would 
hold  the  victim,  and  how  would  this 
beak  tear  it  in  pieces  ! Very  different 
are  they  from  the  slender  claws  and 
the  light  beak  of  such  birds  as  the  canary. 

Here  is  a very  rapacious  bird,  the  vulture.  He  is  on  a rock, 


and  has  under  his  feet  a lamb  which  he  found  in  the  valley  be- 
low. It  had  perhaps  wandered  from  the  flock,  and,  as  it  was 
feeding,  not  thinking  of  danger,  the  vulture  espied  it.  Swiftly 
diving  down,  he  caught  it  with  his  strong  claws  and  brought  it  up 
here.  You  see  what  a beak  he  has  to  tear  the  lamb  in  pieces,  that 
he  may  devour  it. 


124 


INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK. 


The  bill  of  the  toucan.  How  it  trims  its  tail. 

The  toucan,  which  you  see  here,  has  a larger  bill  than  most  oth- 
er birds.  It  uses  it  in 
crushing  and  tearing  its 
food,  which  consists  of 
fruits,  mice,  and  small 
birds.  You  see  that 
its  edges  are  toothed 
somewhat  like  a saw, 
adapting  it  to  tear  in 
pieces  the  little  animals 
which  this  bird  feeds 
on.  But  it  can  use  its 
bill  also  for  another  pur- 
pose. It  is  a powerful 
instrument  of  defense  in 
fighting  off  the  animals 
that  attack  it.  The  tou- 
can makes  its  nest  in  a hole  of  a tree,  which  it  digs  out  with  its 
bill,  if  it  does  not  readily  find  one  already  made  ; and  there  it  sits, 
keeping  off  all  intruders  with  its  big  beak.  The  mischievous 
monkeys  are  its  worst  enemies  ; but,  if  they  get  a blow  from  that 
beak,  they  are  very  careful  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  it  afterward. 
When  the  toucan  sleeps,  it  manages  to  cover  up  this  large  bill 
with  its  feathers,  and  so  it  looks  as  if  it  was  nothing  but  a great 
ball  of  feathers.  There  is  one  curious  use  which  it  makes  of  its 
bill : it  uses  it  to  trim  its  tail,  cutting  its  feathers  as  precisely  as 
a pair  of  scissors  would.  It  takes  great  care  in  doing  this,  evi- 


INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK. 


125 


The  cat’s  paw  and  its  cushions.  Horned  animals. 

dently  thinking  that  it  is  important  to  its  beauty.  It  waits  till 
its  tail  is  full  grown  before  it  begins  to  trim  it. 

The  claws  of  the  cat  hold  the  rat  very  fast,  while  her  long,  sharp 
teeth  tear  its  flesh,  and  pull  even  its  bones  apart.  If  you  see  a 
cat  do  this,  you  will  get  some  idea  of  the  way  in  which  a lion  or 
tiger  tears  in  pieces  any  animal.  As  your  cat  lies  quietly  purring 
in  your  lap,  look  at  her  paws.  The  claws  are  all  concealed,  and 
the  paw,  with  its  cushions,  seems  a very  gentle,  peaceable  thing; 
but  wake  her  up  and  let  her  play  with  a string,  and  as  she  tries 
to  catch  it  with  her  paw,  the  claws  now  thrust  out  make  it  look 
like  a powerful  weapon,  as  it  really  is  in  the  eyes  of  rats  and  mice. 
There  are  muscles  that  work  those  claws  when  the  cat’s  mind  tells 
them  to  do  it.  When  the  claws  are  not  thrust  out  these  muscles 
are  quiet,  but  they  are  ever  ready  to  act  when  a message  comes  to 
tligm  from  the  brain. 

Did  you  ever  think  what  the  use  is  of  those  springy  cushions  in 
the  cat’s  foot  ? They  are  to  keep  her  from  being  jarred  when  she 
jumps  down  from  a considerable  height,  as  she  often  does.  Other 
animals  that  jump  have  them.  There  is  another  use  for  these  cush- 
ions. They  are  of  assistance  to  animals  in  catching  their  prey.  If 
the  cat  had  hard,  horny  feet,  as  she  went  pattering  around  the  rats 
and  mice  would  take  the  alarm  and  get  out  of  the  way. 

Some  animals  have  horns  which  they  use  in  attack  and  de- 
fense, and  very  powerful  weapons  they  are  in  some  cases.  Animals 
that  have  them  often  defend  themselves  successfully  against  the  at- 
tacks of  lions,  tigers,  etc.,  that  are  so  powerful  with  their  teeth  and 
claws.  They  gore  with  them.  They  can  toss  up  quite  a large 


126 


INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK. 


The  horns  of  the  kudu. 


The  sword-fish. 


animal  into  the  air  with 
them.  In  this  animal 
(called  the  koodoo) 
they  are  nearly  three 
feet  long.  You  see 
that  they  have  a beau- 
tiful spiral  shape ; in- 
deed, the  whole  animal 
is  very  handsome.  It 
lives  in  South  Africa, 
in  woods  at  the  side 
of  rivers.  You  might 
suppose  that  it  would 
be  rather  difficult  to  get 
about  among  the  trees 
and  bushes  with  sitfch 
long  horns;  but  the 
koodoo  manages  to  do  this  very  well  by  throwing  his  head  back 
and  letting  his  horns  rest  on  his  shoulders. 


Here  is  a draw- 
ing of  a sword- 
fish. Its  sword 
is  made  of  bone, 
and  it  is  so  very 
strong  that  it  has 
been  known  to  be 
run  through  the 


127 


INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK. 


The  saw-fish.  The  porcupine. 

- — ; 

bottom  of  a ship.  In  the  British  Museum  there  is  a piece  of  the 

bottom  of  a ship  with  one  of  these  swords  run  through  it,  and 
broken  short  off.  The  fish  ipust  have  died  at  once,  for  such  a 
blow  must  have  dashed  his  brains  out,  as  we  say.  This  sword 
must  be  a powerful  weapon  of  defense  or  attack  in  the  fights  of 
this  fish  with  other  animals. 

Here  is  a fish  that 
has  a saw  instead  of 
a sword.  The  teeth, 
you  see,  are  on  both 
sides  of  the  saw. 
This  fish  is  very 
large,  and  uses  this 
weapon  with  great  effect  in  its  fights  with  whales  and  other  mon- 
sters of  the  deep.  It  sometimes  very  foolishly  pushes  its  saw  into 

the  bottom  of  a ship, 
as  the  sword-fish  does 
his  sword. 

There  are  some  an- 
imals that  have  very 
singular  instruments 
of  defense.  The  por- 
cupine is  one.  It  is 
covered  with  two  kinds 
of  quills.  Those  of 
one  kind  are  long,  slen- 
der, and  curved.  The 


128 


INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK. 


What  the  porcupine  does  with  his  quills.  The  ink-bag  of  the  cuttle-fish. 

others  are  short,  straight,  very  stout,  and  have  a sharp  point. 
Whenever  the  porcupine  is  chased  by  any  animal,  and  finds  that 
he  can  not  escape  by  running,  he  stops  and  bristles  up  all  his 
quills,  as  you  see  in  the  previous  engraving.  He  then  backs,  so 
that  the  short,  sharp  quills  may  stick  into  the  animal  that  pursues 
him.  It  has  been  said  that  he  shoots  his  quills  at  any  one  that 
attacks  him.  But  this  is  not  so.  The  error  came  from  the  fact, 
that  if  any  of  the  quills  happen  to  be  a little  loose,  they  fall  out 
or  stick  into  the  flesh  of  his  adversary. 

The  cuttle-fish  has  a curious  way  of  escaping  from  those  fishes 
that  attack  him.  He  is  a strangely-shaped  animal,  as  you  see.  He 

has  eight  long  arms, 
and  the  little  spots 
that  you  see  on  these 
are  suckers,  with  which 
he  can  stick  to  a rock, 
or  can  hold  tightly  any 
fish  or  shell  that  he 
catches.  This  queer- 
looking animal  has  in- 
side of  him  a bag  filled 
with  a dark  fluid  like 
ink.  This  he  uses  as 
a means  of  defense  in  this  way : if  he  is  chased  by  a fish  larger 
than  he  is,  he  empties  his  ink-bag  in  the  water,  and  thus  makes 
such  a cloud  that  it  blinds  his  pursuer,  and  then  the  cuttle-fish 
very  easily  gets  out  of  the  way. 


INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK, 


12£> 


The  torpedo. 


The  electric  cel. 


This  singularly-formed  fish,  the  torpedo,  has  two  electrical  bat- 
teries— that  is,  ma- 
chines for  making 
electricity  or  light- 
ning; and  it  can 
give  a shock  when 
it  pleases.  If  the 
fish  is  a large  one, 
it  can  give  a shock 
powerful  enough  to 
knock  a man  down. 
It  can  disable,  of 
course,  almost  any 
fish  that  attempts 
to  fight  with  him,  and  it  probably  uses  its  battery  also  to  over- 
come the  animals  that  it  devours. 

Here  is  an  eel,  calk 
ed  the  electrical  eel, 
which  has  the  same 
power,  and  uses  it  for 
the  same  purposes.  A 
sailor  was  once  knock- 
ed down  by  a shock 
from  one  of  these  eels, 
and  it  was  some  time 

before  he  recovered  his  senses. 

1 he  different  kinds  of  turtles,  while  they  have  no  great  means 

* I 


130 


INSTRUMENTS  OF  DEFENSE  AND  ATTACK. 


The  armor  of  turtles. 


of  attack,  have  most  extraordinary  means  of  defense.  They  have 
a complete  suit  of  thick,  bony  armor.  Most  kinds  of  turtles  can 

draw  in  their  heads  and 
limbs  out  of  sight,  and 
some  can  shut  up  their 
armor  as  tight  as  a box, 
and  so  be  secure  against 
almost  any  attack.  This 
is  a picture  of  the  green 
turtle,  which  sometimes 
grows  so  large  as  to  weigh 
as  much  as  three  or  four 
men.  It  is  found  in  most 
of  the  islands  of  the  East 
and  West  Indies.  Its  flesh  is  considered  a great  luxury.  The 
beautiful  tortoise-shell,  from  which  combs  are  made,  is  obtained 
from  this  armor  of  some  kinds  of  turtles. 

Questions. — What  are  some  of  the  instruments  of  defense  and  attack  that  animals 
have  ? Why  has  man  none  of  these  ? What  is  the  use  which  men  ought  to  make 
of  the  weapons  which  they  contrive  ? How  are  hands,  teeth,  and  nails  often  im- 
properly used?  What  are  the  fighting  instruments  of  birds?  Tell  about  the  vul- 
ture. Tell  the  different  uses  of  the  large  bill  of  the  toucan.  What  are  the  weap- 
ons of  the  cat  ? What  is  said  about  the  muscles  of  her  claws  ? Of  what  use  are  the 
cushions  on  her  feet  ? Tell  about  the  koodoo.  Tell  about  the  sword-fish  and  about 
the  saw-fish.  What  is  said  about  the  porcupine?  What  about  the  cuttle-fish? 
What  about  the  torpedo  and  the  electrical  eel?  What  about  the  turtles? 


WINGS. 


131 


Bones  of  a bird’s  wing  like  the  bones  of  the  arm  and  hand.  Why  wings  are  so  large. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

WINGS. 

Birds  walk  upon  two  legs  as  we  do  ; but,  instead  of  such  hands 
as  we  have,  they  have  hands  made  for  the  purpose  of  lifting  them 
up  in  the  air.  The  bones  in  a bird’s  wing  are  very  much  like 
the  bones  in  our  arms  and  hands;  but  they  make  a frame-work 
for  the  feathers  of  the  wing  to  spread  out  from.  The  bones  that 
go  out  almost  to  the  very  end  of  the  wing  are  like  the  bones  of 
our  fingers,  only  they  are  much  longer. 

A bird’s  wing,  when  it  is  stretched  out,  is  a very  large  thing. 
It  needs  to  be  large  to  do  its  work  well.  A bird  could  not  fly 
with  small  wings.  You  know  that  by  trying  very  hard  you  jump 
up  into  the  air  a very  little  way.  But  see,  the  bird  goes  up  very 
easily  as  high  as  it  pleases,  and  does  not  seem  to  be  tired.  This 
is  because  its  wings  spread  out  so  broadly. 

The  reason  that  birds  need  such  large  wings  is  this.  As  the 
bird  rises  by  pressing  upon  the  air,  it  must  press  on  a good  deal 
of  air  to  do  this.  If  it  pressed  upon  only  a little  air  it  could  not 
rise  at  all,  because  the  air  gets  out  of  the  way  so  easily  when  it 
is  pressed  upon.  Sivimming  is  flying  in  the  water ; and,  as  water 
when  pressed  does  not  get  out  of  the  way  as  easily  as  air  does, 
the  tail  and  fins,  with  which  fishes  swim,  do  not  need  to  be  as 
large  as  the  wings  of  birds.  For  fhe  same  reason,  hands  and  feet 
answer  very  well  for  us  to  swim  with,  though  Ave  can  not  fly  with 
them.  I shall  tell  you  more  particularly  about  this  in  Part  Third. 


132 


WINGS. 


Wings  of  the  condor.  Muscles  that  work  the  wings  of  birds. 

Here  is  a very  large  bird,  the  condor.  To  lift  such  a heavy 

body  as  lie  has  up  into 
the  air  must  require 
very  large  wings,  and 
you  see  that  he  lias 
them. 

Now,  to  work  such 
broad  wings,  the  bird 
has  very  stout  mus- 
cles. You  know  how 
the  breast  of  a bird 
stands  out.  You  see 
it  here  in  the  condor. 
This  is  because  the 
muscles  with  which  it 
works  its  wings  are 
there.  You  can  sec 
that  this  is  the  reason 
when  a bird  is  cooked.  The  meat,  you  know,  is  very  thick  on 
the  breast-bone — thicker  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  body.  If 
we  had  as  large  muscles  on  our  breast-bones  we  should  look  very 
strange.  But  we  do  not  need  such  large  muscles  to  work  our 
arms  as  birds  do  to  work  their  wings. 

A man  could  not  fly  if  he  had  wings  fixed  on  to  his  arms.  It 
has  been  tried.  I knew  a man  once  to  make  something  like  wings 
for  himself.  After  he  had  made  them,  he  went  up  on  to  the  roof 
of  a shed  to  try  them.  He  jumped  off  and  flapped  his  wings,  but 


WINGS. 


133 


Why  men  can  not  fly. 


Short  wings. 


The  ostrich. 


down  lie  came  about  as  soon  as  if  lie  bad  no  wings,  and  he  was  so 
much  bruised  that  he  was  not  disposed  to  try  the  experiment 
again.  Now  why  could  he  not  fly  ? It  was  not  for  want  of  wings. 
There  the  wings  were,  and  he  had  made  them  right,  for  he  had 
shaped  them  like  the  wings  of  birds.  They  were  large  enough 
and  light  enough  ; the  difficulty  was,  that  the  muscles  of  his  arms 
were  not  strong  enough  to  work  them  well.  They  were  arm- 

muscles  and  not  wing-mus- 
cles. A man  can  not  be 
like  a bird  merely  by  hav- 
ing wings.  He  must  have 
a bird’s  flying  muscles,  or 
he  can  not  fly. 

Different  birds  have  wings 
of  different  sizes.  Those 
that  fly  very  far  and  swiftly 
have  the  largest  wings.  The 
wings  of  the  hen  are  not  large 
enough  to  carry  her  far  up 
into  the  air.  The  most  that 
she  can  do  is  to  fly  over  a 
very  high  fence ; and  if  her 
wings  are  partly  cut  oft',  or 
cropped,  as  it  is  called,  she 
can  not  even  do  that.  There 
are  some  birds  that  do  not 
use  their  wings  in  flying. 


134 


WINGS. 


The  beautiful  motions  of  birds.  The  swallow.  The  humming-biTd. 


The  ostrich,  represented  on  the  previous  page,  is  a great  runner. 
He  can  not  fly,  but  liis  wings  help  him  some  in  running. 

In  what  way  the  wings  act  in  raising  birds  and  carrying  them 
along  I will  explain  to  you  in  Part  Third,  when  I come  to  tell 
you  about  the  air. 

How  beautiful  are  the  motions  of  many  of  the  birds  as  they  fly 
in  the  air ! How  easily  and  gracefully  their  wings  work  ! See 
that  bird  as  it  goes  up  and  up  ; and  now  see  it  as  it  makes  a turn, 
and  comes  down  so  swiftly  on  its  outstretched  wings,  taking  a 
beautiful  sweep  off  at  a distance;  and  then  up  it  goes  again  to 
come  down,  in  the  same  way  that  boys  do  when  they  travel  up  a 
long  hill  to  slide  down  so  swiftly  on  their  sleds.  The  swallow,  as 
he  has  this  fine  sport,  is,  at  the  same  time,  getting  his  living.  As 

he  skims  along  close  to  the 
ground  or  the  water,  as 
represented  here,  quick  as 
thought  he  catches  any  un- 
lucky fly  that  happens  to 
be  in  his  way. 

Especially  beautiful  are 
the  motions  of  the  hum- 
ming-bird. See  him  as  he 
stops  before  some  flower  fluttering  on  his  wings,  or  as  he  darts 
with  them  from  one  flower  to  another.  The  muscles  of  his  wings 
are  very  nimble  workmen.  Our  muscles  can  make  no  motions  as 
quick  as  these. 

Did  you  ever  examine  a feather  from  a bird’s  wing  to  see  what 


WINGrS. 


135 


The  structure  of  feathers. 


The  delicacy  of  a bat’s  wing. 


a curiously-made  thing  it  is  ? The  quill  part  of  it  is  very  strong, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  light.  The  plume  or  feather  part  is  quite 
strong  also.  It  is  made  up  of  a great  many  very  thin  and  deli- 
cate. flat  leaves,  as  we  may  call  them,  which  are  locked  together 
curiously  by  fine  teeth  on  their  edges.  If  you  separate  them  they 
soon  come  together  again,  and  are  locked  as  fast  as  ever.  You 
can  see  the  teeth  by  which  they  hold  on  to  each  other  very  well 
with  a common  microscope. 

No  wonder  that  the  bat  can  fly  so  swiftly  with  such  very  broad 
and  light  wings  as  he  has.  Did  you  ever  observe  how  a bat’s 
wing  is  made  ? It  is  a very  curious  and  really  beautiful  thing. 
It  is  an  exceedingly  fine,  thin  skin,  on  a frame- work  of  long,  slen- 
der bones.  These  are  to  it  what  sticks  of  whalebone  are  to  an 
umbrella  ; and  the  wings  can  be  folded  up  somewhat  as  an  umbrella 

is.  This  is  done  whenever . 
tho  bat  is  not  flying.  When 
it  is  on  the  ground  it  is  very 
awkward  in  its  movements. 
It  can  not  get  a start  to 
fly,  and  so  it  pushes  itself 
along  with  its  hind  feet,  at 
the  same  time  pulling  by 
the  hooks  in  its  wings,  which 
it  puts  forward,  first  one 
and  then  the  other,  hooking 
them  into  the  ground.  It 
never  likes  to  get  upon  the 


130 


WINGS. 


The  vampire  bat.  Locust's  wing.  Wing  of  the  katydid. 

ground,  and  it  takes  its  rest  always,  as  you  sec  represented  on 
the  previous  page,  by  hanging  itself  up  by  the  two  hooks  in  its 

wings. 

Here  is  a picture  of 
the  vampire  bat,  a na- 
tive of  South  America, 
that  lives  by  sucking 
the  blood  of  animals 
when  they  are  asleep. 

Nothing  is  more  del- 
icate than  the  wings 
of  insects.  They  are 
like  gauze ; but  they 
have  a frame-work  that 
makes  them  quite  firm, 
just  as  leaves  are  firm  -from  the  ribs  that  are  in  them.  Here  is 

a drawing  of  the  wing  of  a locust.  But 
you  can  get  no  idea  of  the  beauty  of  in- 
sects’ wings  from  such  drawings.  You 
must  examine  the  wings  themselves. 
Even  the  wing  of  a common  fly  is  very  beautiful,  so  delicate  is 
its  structure. 

The  wing  of  the  katydid,  as  it  is  called,  is  peculiarly  beauti- 
ful. Here  it  is.  You  see  that  it  is 
very  delicate.  Its  color  is  a light 
green.  You  see  that  rather  thick 
three-cornered  ridge  at  that  part  of  the 


WINGS. 


137 


How  the  katydid  makes  its  noise.  How  you  can  stop  it. 

wing  which  joins  the  body.  There  is  a similar  ridge  on  the  wing 
of  the  other  side.  In  the  space  within  this  ridge  there  is  a thin 
but  strong  membrane  or  skin,  so  that  it  makes  a kind  of  drum- 
head. It  is  the  rubbing  together  of  these  two  drum-heads  on  the 
wings  that  makes  the  noise.  It  is  a queer  sound.  There  is  no 
music  in  it,  but  the  katydids  seem  to  enjoy  making  it. 

The  katydid  commonly  makes  three  rubs  at  a time  with  its 
drum-heads.  It  sounds  somewhat  as  if  it  said  Katy-did,  and  from 
this  comes  its  name.  Sometimes  there  are  only  two  rubs,  and 
then  you  can  fancy  that  it  says  She  did  or  She  didn’t.  The 
katydids,  you  know,  are  all  quiet  in  the  daytime,  but  when  even- 
ing comes  they  are  very  noisy.  I have  often  been  amused  to 
hear  them  as  they  begin  just  at  dusk.  One  will  begin,  and  per- 
haps say  its  Katy-  did  several  times ; then  another,  on  a neigh- 
boring tree,  will  reply  ; and  after  a little  time  the  whole  tribe  will 
be  at  work.  Each  one  appears  to  rest  upon  it  after  each  rubbing, 
and  so  it  seems  as  if  they  answered  each  other  from  one  tree  and 
another.  It  is  curious  that  you  can  at  once  stop  the  noise  of  this 
insect  by  striking  the  trunk  of  the  tree  on  which  he  is  with  your 
hand. 

Questions. — What  are  the  bones  in  a bird’s  wing  like  ? What  is  said  about  the 
size  of  birds’  wings  ? What  about  the  muscles  that  work  them  ? Why  can  not  a 
man  fly  if  he  makes  wings  for  himself?  What  birds  have  the  largest  wings  ? What 
is  said  about  the  hen  ? What  about  the  ostrich  ? What  is  said  about  the  motions 
of  birds  in  flying  ? What  is  said  of  the  swallow  ? What  of  the  humming-bird  ? 
Tell  about  the  parts  of  a feather  from  a bird’s  wing.  What  is  said  about  the  bat’s 
wings?  What  about  its  motions  on  the  ground?  How  does  it  rest?  What  in 
said  about  the  wings  of  insects  ? How  does  the  katydid  make  its  noise  ? 


138 


COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


The  skin  of  man. 


Why  it  is  different  from  the  covering  of  animals. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 

The  skin  of  man  is  liis  covering.  It  covers  up  like  a case  all 
the  machinery  that  I have  told  you  is  in  his  body — the  bones,  the 
muscles,  the  nerves,  the  arteries,  the  veins,  etc.  It  keeps  them 
from  being  injured.  Besides  this,  how  strange  we  should  look* if 
there  were  no  skin  to  cover  up  these  parts  from  view. 

The  skin  fits  very  nicely  all  parts  of  the  body.  On  the  hand 
it  is  like  a glove.  See  how  well  it  fits.  But  observe  that  there 
are  some  places  where  it  is  quite  loose  and  full  of  wrinkles.  It  is 
so  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger,  and  around  the  joints  of  the 
fingers.  In  these  places  it  would  not  do  to  have  it  fit  tight,  be- 
cause if  it  did  you  could  not  move  your  thumb  and  fingers  as 
freely  as  you  do. 

But  the  covering  of  man’s  body  is  different  from  that  of  other 
animals.  It  is,  for  the  most  part,  bare  skin,  while  most  animals 
have  either  hair,  or  feathers,  or  scales,  or  hard  plates  like  armor, 
or  shells.  Why  is  it  that  man  has  a covering  that  protects  him 
so  much  less  than  animals  generally  are  protected  by  their  cover- 
ings ? It  is  because  he  knows  how  to  make  such  a covering  as 
he  needs  to  put  on  over  his  skin.  He  can  suit  this  to  the  degree 
of  heat  or  cold.  But  animals  know  nothing  about  this.  No  one 
ever  saw  an  animal  make  clothes  and  put  them  on.  The  Crea- 
tor has  given  to  each  animal  such  covering  or  clothes  as  it  needs, 
ready-made.  Let  us  look  at  this  a little. 


COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


139 


Fur  and  hair.  Blanketing  the  horse  The  fur  of  the  cat.  Feathers. 

Animals  in  very  cold  climates  need  a very  warm  covering. 
They  therefore  have  a thick  fur.  But  animals  that  live  in  warm 
countries  havQ  rather  thin  hair  instead  of  fur.  The  elephant  has 
very  little  hair,  and  it  is  only  with  the  greatest  care  that  he  can 
be  made  to  live  through  our  cold  winters.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  monkey.  If  these  animals  had  a good  covering  of  fur  on  their 
skins,  the  cold  would  not  affect  them  in  this  way. 

The  hair  of  the  horse  is  rather  thin*  It  is  not  like  fur ; and  if 
the  horse’s  master  is  kind,  he  is  very  careful  to  put  a good  blank- 
et on  him  whenever  the  cold  makes  it  necessary.  If  he  did  not, 
the  horse  would  get  chilled  and  take  cold.  The  horse  is  not  a 
native  of  cold  countries,  but  of  such  warm  countries  as  South 
America  and  Arabia.  There  horses  run  wild,  and  are  always  in 
large  companies  or  herds. 

You  know  how  thick  the  fur  is  on  the  cat.  You  can  see  how 
fine  it  is,  and  how  thickly  the  hairs  stand  together,  if  you  blow  on 
it  so  as  to  separate  the  hairs.  With  this  warm  coat  on  her,  she 
does  not  feel  the  cold  much.  You  see  her  often  in  cold  weather 
out-of-doors,  with  her  feet  gathered  up  under  her  to  keep  them 
warm.  The  monkey,  with  his  thin  hair,  could  not  do  so.  He 
has  to  be  kept  in  a warm  place  in  the  winter. 

The  covering  of  birds,  while  it  is  such  as  to  keep  them  warm, 
is  very  light.  If  it  were  not  so,  they  could  not  fly  as  well  as  they 
do.  Feathers  are  so  light,  that,  when  we  wish  to  speak  of  any 
thing  as  being  very  light,  we  say  that  it  is  as  light  as  a feather. 
The  downy  feathers  on  the  breast  of  birds  are  especially  light. 
The  feathers  of  the  wings  are  different.  They  are  made  strong 


140 


COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


The  oily  feathers  of  the  duck. 


Why  fishes  have  scales,  and  why  they  are  oily. 


for  the  work  of  flying,  and  at  the  same  time  they  are  quite  light. 
How  this  is  done  I have  told  you  in  the  chapter  before  this. 

Birds  that  go  much  into  the  water  have  an  oil  about  their  feath- 
ers which  keeps  them  from  being  soaked ; for  this  reason,  a duck, 
when  it  comes  out  of  the  water,  is  almost  as  dry  as  before  it  went 
in.  But  if  a hen  should  go  into  the  water  in  the  same  way,  she 
would  be  wet  through  her  feathers  to  her  skin.  She  was  not  made » 
to  go  into  the  water,  and  so  has  neither  the  oily  feathers  nor  the 
webbed  feet  which  are  given  to  the  duck. 

Why  is  it  that  fishes  have  scales  ? It  is  because  they  need  a 
smooth  covering  in  ordej:  to  get  along  easily  in  the  water.  A cov- 
ering which  is  rough,  or  which  would  soak  in  water,  would  be  bad 


tions  of  the  fish.  If  the  same  covering  were  all  in  one,  instead 
of  being  made  up  of  many  scales,  it  could  not  bend  as  easily  as  it 
does  now  in  turning  its  course  in  the  water.  The  scales  are  kept 
oiled,  and  this  helps  the  fish  to  glide  along  swiftly.  It  is  this 
that  makes  the  fish  so  slippery  that  it  is  difficult  to  hold  it  in  its 
struggles  when  it  is  first  taken  out  of  the  water. 

I have  told  you,  in  another  chapter,  about  the  coverings  of  such 


for  them.  The  scales, 
you  know,  lap  over  one 
upon  another,  as  you 
see  here  in  the  herring. 
They  thus  make  quito 
a firm  coat  of  mail,  and 
at  the  same  time  do  not 
hinder  the  bending  mo- 


COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


141 


How  the  hermit-crab  guards  his  naked  tail. 


animals  as  lobsters  and  crabs.  There  is  one  kind  of  crab,  called 
the  hermit-crab,  that  has  no  covering  over  his  tail  as  lie  has  over 
the  other  parts  of  his  body.  It  is  therefore  very  liable  to  be  in- 
jured unless  it  is  guarded  in  some 
way.  And  how  do  you  think  he 
guards  it?  He  just  puts  it  into 
some  shell  that  he  finds,  as  you  see 
here,  and  then  goes  about,  dragging 
it  after  him.  As  he  grows  the  tail 
becomes  too  large  for  the  shell,  and 
as  soon  as  he  feels  the  shell  begin- 
ning to  pinch,  he  pulls  his  tail  out 
and  goes  in  search  of  another  shell. 
It  is  amusing  to  see  him  try  one 
after  another  till  he  finds  one  that  fits  well.  Sometimes  two  of 
these  crabs  come  to  the  same  shell,  and  then  they  have  a fight 
about  it.  Very  foolish  must  a crab  feel  when  he  has  driven  an- 
other one  off,  and  finds,  after  all,  that  the  shell  he  has  been  fight- 
ing for  does  not  fit  his  tail. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  our  skin  as  a covering  ? What  is  said  about  its 
fitting  well  ? Where  are  there  wrinkles,  and  why  ? How  is  the  covering  of  man’s 
body  different  from  that  of  other  animals,  and  why  ? What  is  said  about  animals 
in  cold  climates  ? What  about  those  that  live  in  warm  countries  ? What  about  the 
elephant,  the  monkey,  and  the  horse  ? What  about  the  fur  of  the  cat  ? What 
about  the  covering  of  birds  ? How  are  the  feathers  of  the  wing  different  from  those 
of  the  breast,  and  why  ? Why  are  the  feathers  of  some  birds  oily  ? Tell  about  the 
duck  and  the  hen.  Wh}r  do  fishes  have  scales  ? Why  are  they  kept  oiled  ? Toll 
about  the  hermit-crab. 


142 


BEAUTY  OF  THE  COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


Beauty  of  some  very  small  insects.  Butterflies.  Colors  in  shells. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

BEAUTY  OF  THE  COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 

There  is  great  variety  in  the  coverings  of  insects.  In  some 
the  covering  is  like  burnished  armor.  The  variety  of  colors  is 
exceedingly  great,  and  in  many  they  have  a splendid  brilliancy. 
Some  of  the  smallest  insects,  which  most  people  never  notice,  are 
surpassingly  beautiful  when  examined  with  the  microscope.  It 
is  with  them  in  this  respect  as  it  is  with  some  of  the  smallest 
flowers.  We  know  not  how  much  beauty  there  is  all  around  us 
in  the  small  things  that  God  has  created  till  we  take  the  micro- 
scope and  look  at  them. 

The  butterflies  are  among  the  most  beautiful  of  insects.  Almost 
every  variety  of  color  is  to  be  seen  in  them,  and  often  many  colors 
are  seen  together,  arranged  in  the  most  beautiful  manner.  You 
can  not  have  any  idea  of  the  great  variety  of  their  beauty  unless 
you  see  some  collection  of  them  in  cases  in  some  museum. 

You  have  often  admired  the  beauty  of  different  shells.  These 
are  the  coverings  of  animals  who  lead  a very  quiet  life  in  them, 
as  I told  you  about  the  oyster.  Very  splendid  are  the  colors  often 
on  the  inside  of  these  coverings,  and  sometimes  on  the  outside 
also ; and  even  when  the  outside  is  not  at  all  handsome  when  we 
get  the  shell  from  the  water,  we  often  find  that  clearing  off  the 
outer  coating  with  acid,  or  by  nibbing,  will  show  us  beautiful 
colors.  Then,  too,  by  grinding  the  shell  in  different  parts  of  it, 
different  layers  are  seen  of  different  hues. 


BEAUTY  OP  THE  COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


143 


Why  God  made  shells  so  beautiful. 


The  hoopoe. 


The  beauty  of  these  coverings  is  of  no  use  to  the  animals  that 
livain  them.  They  have  no  eyes  to  see  it.  Tor  what,  then,  is 
it  intended  ? It  is  for  our  gratification.  The  Creator  strews 
beautiful  things  even  on  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  for  us.  If  the 
coverings,  or  houses,  as  we  may  call  them,  of  all  the  animals  that 
live  there  were  as  homely  as  that  of  the  oyster,  they  would  be  as 
useful  and  comfortable  for  them  as  they  are  now,  decked  with 
their  elegant  colors.  So  far  as  they  are  concerned,  the  beauty 
is  thrown  away.  But  men  gather  the  shells,  and,  while  they  ad- 
mire  them,  they  see  in  the  beauty  which  the  Creator  lavishes  even 
in  the  depths  of  the  sea  the  evidence  of  his  abounding  goodness. 

The  variety  of  beauty  in  the 
coverings  of  birds  is  very  great. 
The  various  colors  are  arranged 
in  their  plumage  in  every  va- 
riety of  manner,  and  there  are 
all  shades  of  the  colors,  from 
the  most  brilliant  to  the  most 
delicate. 

Commonly  the  greatest  dis- 
play in  the  plumage  of  birds  is 
in  the  delicate  and  downy  feath- 
ers of  the  breast.  But  the  bird 
that  you  see  here,  the  hoopoe, 
has  its  chief  beauty  in  its  crest, 
which  is  of  an  orange  color  tip- 
ped with  black.  It  is  one  of  the  most  elegant  of  birds. 


144 


BEAUTY  OF  THE  COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


The  beauty  of  the  peacock.  Its  pride.  Its  disagreeable  voice. 


In  the  peacock,  a drawing  of  which  you  have  here,  there  is  a 
great  display  of  colors.  The  animal  struts  about,  and,  lifting  its 


tail  in  the  air,  spreads  it  like  a fan,  and  seems  to  be  very  foolish' 
Iy  proud  of  its  beauty.  Proud  people  generally  have  something 
disagreeable  about  them,  and  so  it  is  with  the  peacock.  Its  voice  is 
so  harsh  and  screeching  that  no  one  wants  it  in  his  neighborhood. 


BEAUTY  OF  THE  COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


145 


A bird  of  paradiso.  Its  cleanliness. 

Birds  of  Paradise,  as  they  are  called,  are  exceedingly  beautiful. 

There  are  several  kinds 
of  them.  The  most  com- 
mon kind  is  the  one  pic- 
tured here.  I will  give 
you  an  idea  of  its  colors. 
Most  of  its  body  is  a rich 
brown ; the  throat  is  a 
golden  green;  the  head 
is  yellow  ; the  long, 
downy  feathers  that  you 
see  so  abundant  about 
the  tail  are  of  a soft  yel- 
low color.  This  elegant 
bird  is  very  careful  to 
prevent  the  least  speck 
of  dirt  from  getting  on 
its  plumage ; and  when  it  sits  on  a branch  of  a tree  it  always 
faces  the  wind,  so  that  its  feathers  may  not  be  ruffled. 

There  is,  I think,  in  the  humming-birds  more  variety  of  color 
than  in  any  other  kind  of  birds.  The  colors  are  very  brilliant,  es- 
pecially upon  the  delicate  feathers  of  their  breasts ; and  they  are 
shaded  in  the  most  beautiful  manner.  I never  saw  a finer  display 
of  colors  than  I once  saw  in  a collection  of  humming-birds  in  a 
museum  in  Philadelphia.  On  the  following  page  is  an  engraving 
of  a few  varieties  of  these  birds.  You  can  see  what  different  shapes 
they  have.  They  are  alike  only  in  their  long,  slender  bills.  And 

2 K 


146 


BEAUTY  OF  TIIE  COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


Ilumming-birda. 


Beauty  of  the  furs  of  animals. 


when  one  sees  a large  collection  of  them,  with  all  their  varied  forms 
and  colors,  lie  is  struck  with  admiration  .and  wonder. 


Many  of  the  furs  of  animals  have  much  beauty,  but  there  is  no 
such  great  variety  of  color  as  there  is  in  the  plumage  of  birds. 
As  you  blow  on  a fine  fur,  and  see  how  thickly  its  delicate  fibres 
stand  together,  you  admire  its  richness.  Each  fibre  of  it  is  in  it- 
self a beautiful  thing. 

We  hardly  know  why  it  is  that  some  animals  that  we  dislike 
so  much  should  have  so  much  beauty.  Worms  and  caterpillars 
are  disgusting  to  us,  and  yet  in  many  of  them  there  is  a great 
display  of  elegant  colors.  While  writing  this,  I see  one  crawling 
along  on  my  coat-sleeve  with  its  numerous  feet  of  curious  shape. 


BEAUTY  OP  THE  COVERINGS  OF  ANIMALS. 


147 


A caterpillar. 


Why  such  snimals  are  often  very  beautiful. 


Its  color  is  a brilliant  green.  On  its  back  stand  up  in  a row 
three  beautiful  light  yellow  tufts.  Behind  these,  on  a dark  stripe, 
are  two  fleshy-looking  round  bunches,  that  are  a most  brilliant 
red.  On  its  side  bristle  out  white  hairs  in  bundles.  Its  head  is 
red,  and  from  it  extend  forward  dark  colored  but  very  delicate 
feelers,  in  two  bundles.  I suppose  they  are  feelers,  because  they 
are  shaped  like  the  feelers  of  the  butterfly,  which  you  see  on 
page  118. 

Now  why  is  it  1 hat  so  much  beauty  is  given  to  such  animals  ? 
It  does  not  seem  to  be  of  any  use.  But  this  can  not  be  so,  for 
God  has  a use  for  every  thing  that  he  makes.  We  are  to  remem- 
ber that  he  can  make  a thing  beautiful  as  easily  as  he  can  make 
it  homely.  And  it  is  just  this  lesson,  perhaps,  that  he  means  to 
teach  us  when  he  clothes  such  creatures  as  worms  and  caterpil- 
lars in  coverings  of  beautiful  colors.  It  is  different  with  us.  We 
try  to  make  beautiful  only  those  things  that  we  prize  much. 
There  are  some  things  that  it  would  be  a foolish  waste  of  time  for 
us  to  ornament.  This  is  because  we  can  do  but  little  in  making 
things  beautiful.  But  there  is  no  end  to  God’s  power  in  the  crea- 
tion of  beauty.  He  can,  by  the  word  of  his  power,  make  just  as 
many  beautiful  things  as  he  pleases. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  variety  of  colors  in  insects  ? What  is  said 
about  butterflies  ? What  about  shells  ? Is  their  beauty  of  any  use  to  the  animals 
that  live  in  them  ? Why  is  so  much  beauty  put  in  them  ? What  is  said  about  the 
variety  of  colors  in  the  coverings  of  birds  ? Tell  about  the  hoopoe.  Tell  about 
the  peacock  and  about  the  birds  of  Paradise.  What  is  said  about  humming-birds  ? 
What  is  said  of  the  furs  of  animals?  What  is  said  about  worms  and  caterpillars? 
Why  is  so  much  beauty  often  given  to  such  animals  ? 


148 


HOW  MAN  IS  SUPERIOR  TO  ANIMALS. 


Man’s  superiority  in  his  mind.  Machinery  of  animals  suited  to  their  minds. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

HOW  MAN  IS  SUPERIOR  TO  ANIMALS. 

You  see,  from  what  I have  told  you,  that  man  can  do  with  liis 
hands  a great  variety  of  tilings  that  animals  can  not  do.  It  has 
been  said,  therefore,  by  some  that  the  hand  is  the  great  thing  that 
makes  man  superior  to  animals.  But  this  is  not  true.  Of  what 
use  would  the  hand  be  if  there  was  not  a mind  in  the  head  that 
knew  how  to  use  it?  Suppose  that  your  cat  had  a hand  instead 
of  a paw,  could  she  write  with  it?  No;  the  mind  in  her  brain 
does  not  know  enough  for  this.  And  so  there  are  a great  many 
other  things  that  we  do  with  our  hands  which  the  cat  would  not 
know  enough  to  do  with  hands,  if  she  had  them. 

So,  then,  it  is  not  the  hand  merely  that  makes  you  superior  to 
a cat,  but  it  is  the  mind  that  uses  the  hand.  Your  mind  knows 
more  than  her  mind  does,  and  wants  to  do  more  things  than  her 
mind  ever  dreams  of.  Your  mind,  therefore,  needs  such  an  instru- 
ment as  the  hand  to  do  these  things  with,  while  a paw  answers 
very  well  for  the  cat. 

God  gives  to  every  animal  just  such  machinery  as  its  mind  can 
use.  If  it  knows  a great  deal,  that  is,  if  it  has  a great  deal  of 
mind,  he  gives  it  a great  deal  of  machinery ; but  if  it  has  but  lit- 
tle mind,  he  gives  it  but  little  machinery ; for  if  he  gave  it  much, 
it  would  not  knowhow  to  work  it.  An  oyster,  as  I have  told 
you,  knows  but  little  as  it  lies  covered  up  in  its  shell.  It  knows 


IIOW  MAN  IS  SUPERIOR  TO  ANIMALS. 


149 


Machinery  of  the  oyster,  and  of  the  cat  and  dog.  Machinery  in  the  face. 

how  to  do  only  a few  things,  and  so  it  has  but  little  machinery. 
A dog  or  a cat  knows  a great  deal  more  than  an  oyster,  and  there- 
fore it  has  paws,  claws,  teeth,  etc.,  as  machinery  for  its  mind  to 
use.  And  as  your  mind  knows  so  much  more  than  that  of  a dog 
or  cat,  it  has  that  wonderful  machine,  the  hand,  to  do  what  it 
knows  how  to  do. 

The  mind  of  man  knows  so  much  that  it  will  contrive,  when 
there  are  no  hands,  to  use  other  things  in  place  of  them.  I once 
saw  a man  who  had  no  hands  write,  and  do  various  other  things 
very  well  Avith  his  toes.  You  know  that  we  generally  use  the 
right  hand  most,  making  the  left  hand  rather  the  helpmeet  of  the 
right.  But  when  the  right  hand  is  lost  in  any  way,  the  mind  sets 
the  left  to  work  to  learn  t§  do  as  the  lost  one  did.  I once  had  to 
cut  off  the  right  arm  of  a very  bright  little  girl.  But  her  busy 
mind  did  not  stop  working  because  it  had  lost  the  best  part  of  its 
machinery.  In  less  than  a fortnight  I saw  her  sewing  with  her 
left  hand,  fastening  her  work  with  a pin  instead  of  holding  it  as 
she  used  to  do. 

There  is  some  other  machinery,  besides  the  hand,  that  you  have 
which  animals  have  not.  It  is  the  machinery  that  is  in  the  face. 
I have  told  you  about  this  before,  in  the  chapter  on  the  muscles. 
A dog,  when  he  is  pleased,  looks  up  at  you  and  wags  his  tail ; but 
he  can  not  laugh  or  even  smile ; neither  can  he  frown.  Why  ? 
Because  there  is  none  of  the  smiling,  and  laughing,  and  frowning 
machinery  there.  And  so  it  is  with  other  animals. 

The  variety  of  work  that  this  machinery  of  expression  does  in 
the  face  of  man  is  very  great,  as  you  can  see  if  you  watch  the 


150 


HOW  MAN  IS  SUPERIOR  TO  ANIMALS. 


Variety  of  expression  in  the  face. 


The  wolf. 


Why  we  have  no  snarling  muscle*;. 


varied  expressions  of  countenance  in  persons  engaged  in  animated 
conversation.  But  there  is  very  little  variety  of  expression  in  the 
face  of  an  animal.  Now  why  is  it  that  they  have  not  the  sam<? 
muscles  of  expression  that  we  have  ? It  is  for  the  same  reason 
that  they  have  not  hands.  The  mind  of  man  has  a great  many 
more  thoughts  and  feelings  than  the  mind  of  an  animal  has.  It 
needs,  therefore,  more  machinery  to  express  these  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings. The  wagging  of  the  dog’s  tail  answers  very  well  to  express 
his  simple  feeling  of  pleasure ; but  you  have  so  many  different 
pleasant  thoughts  and  feelings  that  you  need  the  varied  play  of 
the  muscles  of  the  face  to  express  them. 

But  some  animals  have  certain  muscles  of  expression  in  the  face 
that  we  have  not.  They  are  the  snarlingfmuscles,  as  they  are  called. 
They  draw  up  the  upper  lip  on  each  side  of  the  mouth  in  such  a 

way  as  to  show  the  long, 


tearing  teeth.  In  this 
wolf,  about  to  devour  a 
lamb  that  he  has  caught, 
you  see  what  a fierce  and 
horrid  expression  these 
muscles  give  to  the  face. 
Now  the  reason  that  we 
have  no  such  muscles  is 
that  we  ought  never  to 
have  snarling  feelings. 
I have  seen  both  men 
were  angry;  but  they 


and  children  look  very  bad  when  they 


HOW  MAN  IS  SUPERIOR  TO  ANIMALS. 


151 


Why  animals  can  not  talk.  Some  things  done  better  by  some  animals  than  by  man. 

would  liave  looked  a great  deal  worse  if  they  had  snarling  machin- 
ery  in  their  faces,  as  wolves,  and  cats,  and  dogs  have  in  theirs. 

There  is  some  machinery  that  animals  have  just  as  we  do,  which 
they  can  not  use  to  do  as  many  things  as  we  can,  because  they 
do  not  know  how.  I will  give  you  an  example,  and  then  you 
will  see  what  I mean.  Did  you  ever  think  why  it  is  that  animals 
can  not  talk  ? It  is  not  because  they  have  not  the  machinery  for 
talking.  Many  of  them  have  tongues,  teeth,  lips,  etc.  These 
are  the  things  that  we  use  to  talk  with,  and  yet,  though  they  have 
them,  and  have  a voice  that  comes  out  from  their  throats  as  ours 
does,  they  can  not  talk.  Why  is  this  ? It  is  because  they  do 
not  know  how  to  use  these  parts  in  talking,  though  they  do  know 
how  to  use  them  in  other  things,  a>s  eating..  The  cow  knows  how 
to  use  her  teeth,  and  lips,  and  tongue  in  eating ; but  if  she  had  a 
mind  like  yours,  she  would  use  them  in  talking,  and  would  not 
merely  low. 

The  parrot,  you  know,  does  know  how  to  talk,  after  a fashion* 
This  particular  faculty  is  given  to  it,  though  it  is  rather  a stupid 
bud  about  other  things.  And,  after  all,  its  talking  is  a very  awk- 
ward imitation  of  the  speech  of  man ; it  only  says  what  it  hears 
people  say,  and  that  in  a very  bungling  manner. 

Though  man  has  more  machinery  and  can  do  more  things  than 
any  other  animal,  there  are  some  things  that  some  animals  can  do 
better  than  he  can.  Man  can  climb,  but  he  can  not  do  it  as  well 
as  a cat  or  a monkey.  He  can  swim,  but  not  as  well  as  a fish. 
The  frog  and  the  grasshopper  are  better  jumpers.  The  horse  and 
the  dog  can  run  faster  than  he  can.  He  can  not  see  as  far  as 


152 


IIOW  MAN  IS  SUPERIOR  TO  ANIMALS. 


Some  animals  can  do  things  which  man  can  not. 


some  birds.  He  lias  but  two  eyes,  but  the  fly  lias  thousands  of 
eyes,  so  that  it  can  see  in  almost  all  directions  at  once.  He  can 
not  smell  as  well  as  the  dog,  who  can  follow  the  track  of  his  mas- 
ter by  the  scent  left  in  his  footsteps.  He  can  mimic  different 
sounds,  but  the  mocking-bird  cart-  beat  him  at  this. 

But,  besides  all  this,  there  are  some  things  done  by  some  ani- 
mals that  man  can  not  do  at  all.  He  can  not  fly  like  the  birds 
and  insects.  He  can  not  go  to  roost  like  the  birds.  He  can  not 
walk  along  on  the  wall  over  his  head,  as  the  fly  does  with  the 
suckers  on  its  feet. 

Each  animal  is  fitted  to  do  just  those  things  that  it  needs  to 
do.  For  example,  the  monkey  needs  to  climb  to  get  his  living, 
and  the  Creator  has  therefore  made  him  so  that  he  can  climb  very 
easily.  For  this  purpose,  instead  of  having  two  hands  and  two 
feet,  as  we  have,  he  has  four  things  shaped  somewhat  like  hands, 
with  which  he  can  grasp  the  limbs  of  trees.  I might  give  you 
other  examples,  but  you  can  find  many  in  the  chapters  on  what 
animals  use  for  hands,  the  tools  of  animals,  and  their  instruments 
of  defense  and  attack. 

Questions. — Wkat  is  said  about  the  hand  ? In  what  is  man  superior  to  animals  ? 
What  is  said  about  the  machinery  that  God  gives  to  different  animals  ? Tell  about 
the  man  that  had  no  hands,  and  about  the  girl  that  had  her  arm  cut  off.  What  is 
said  about  the  machinery  in  the  face  ? What  about  the  variety  of  work  that  this 
machinery  does?  Why  do  not  animals  have  the  same  muscles  of  expression  that 
man  has  ? What  muscles  of  expression  do  some  animals  have  that  man  has  not  ? 
Why  does  not  man  have  them  ? Why  can  not  animals  talk  ? What  is  said  about 
the  parrot?  Mention  some  things  that  some  animals  can  do  better  than  man. 
Mention  some  things  done  by  animals  that  he  can  not  do  at  all.  What  is  every 
animal  fitted  to  do  ? 


THE  THINKING-  OF  ANIMALS. 


153 


What  animals  think  about. 


The  cat  and  the  snow. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS. 

You  saw  in  the  last  chapter  that  the  great  superiority  of  man 
over  other  animals  is  in  his  mind.  Let  us  look,  now,  at  those 
things  in  which  their  minds  are  like  his,  and  those  things  in  which 
they  differ  from  it. 

I have  already  told  you  some  things  about  the  thinking  of  ani- 
mals. Some  of  them  think  a great  deal.  They  think  about  what 
they  see,  and  hear,  and  feel  very  much  as  we  do.  I once  had  a 
cat  that  was  born  in  the  spring,  after  the  snow  was  all  gone.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  next  winter,  the  first  snow  that  came  was 
quite  deep.  It  fell  in  the  night.  It  was,  of  course,  a new  sight 
to  my  cat.  When  she  came  out  in  the  morning,  she  looked  at  it 
with  very  curious  eyes,  just  as  we  look  at  any  thing  new.  I sup- 
pose that  she  thought  how  clean,  and  white,  and  pretty  it  was. 
After  looking  a little  while,  she  poked  the  snow  first  with  one  paw 
and  then  with  the  other  several  times,  to  see  how  it  felt.  Then 
she  gathered  up  between  her  paws  as  much  as  she  could  hold,  and 
threw  it  up  in  the  air  over  her  head  ; and  then  she  ran  swiftly  all 
around  the  yard,  making  the  snow  fly  about  like  feathers  wherever 
she  went.  Now,  though  my  cat  could  not  talk,  I could  see  by 
her  actions  that  her  thoughts  and  feelings  were  very  much  such 
as  children  have  when  they  play  in  the  snow. 

Animals  are  much  like  children  in  their  sports.  We  notice  this 
very  often  in  dogs  and  cats.  But  the  same  thing  is  true  of  other 


154 


THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS. 


The  sport  of  animals.  Sober  animals.  The  Irishman  and  the  owl. 

animals.  It  is  amusing  to  see  porpoises  playing  with  each  othei 
in  the  water.  As  they  throw  themselves  up  out  of  the  water,  and 
dive  down  again,  they  chase  each  other  as  dogs  and  cats  do.  Some 
birds  are  very  lively  in  their  sports.  Insects  have  their  sports 
also.  The  ants,  industrious  as  they  generally  are,  have  their 
times  for  play.  They  run  races  ; they  wrestle  ; they  carry  each 
other  on  their  backs  in  the  same  way  that  boys  do ; they  run  one 
after  another,  and  dodge  each  other  behind  stalks  of  .grass,  as  boys 
do  behind  trees  and  posts  ; they  have  scuffles  and  mock-fights  to- 
gether. Very  busy  are  their  minds  in  their  little  brains  in  these 
sports — as  busy  as  your  minds  are  in  your  sports. 

There  are  some  ani- 
mals that  you  never 
see  engaged  in  sports. 
Their  thoughts  seem  to 
be  always  of  the  sober 
kind.  You  never  see 
toads  and  frogs  play. 
They  always  look  very 
grave.  The  owl  is  one 
of  the  soberest-looking 
of  animals.  He  looks 
as  if  he  was  consider- 
ing something.  Here 
is  a picture  of  one.  A 
man  once  bought  an 
owl,  supposing  it  to 


THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS. 


155 


The  thinking  of  animals  in  taking  care  of  their  young. 


be  a parrot.  Some  one  asked  him,  a day  or  two  after,  if  his  par- 
rot talked  yet.  No,  said  he,  but  he  keeps  up  a great  thinking, 
and  I suppose  he  will  speak  his  thoughts  when  he  gets  more  ac- 
quainted. 

Animals  think  a great  deal  in  taking  care  of  their  young.  What 
care  the  hen  exercises  over  her  brood  of  chickens  ! She  has  some 
of  the  same  thoughts  and  feelings  of  love  that  a mother  has  in 
taking  care  of  her  child.  And  the  bird,  that  has  her  little  ones  in 
the  nest,  has  many  thoughts  about  them  as  she  goes  out  to  gather 
food,  and  then  wings  her  way  back  to  put  it  into  their  open  mouths. 

It  is  interesting  to  watch  canary-birds  as  they  hatch  and  rear 
their  young.  The  male  bird  commonly  insists  upon  it  that  the 
female  shall  sit  upon  the  nest  all  the  time,  while  he  takes  upon 
himself  the  task  of  feeding  her.  A male  canary  belonging  to  a 
friend  of  mine  was  excessively  particular  on  this  point.  He 
would  not  let  his  mate  leave  the  nest  for  a moment,  and  if  she 
did  he  would  fight  her  till  she  went  back.  He  was  exceedingly 
busy  in  feeding  her,  and  might  certainly  be  called  a good  provider. 

A lady  gave  me  a very  interesting  account  of  two  orioles  that 
built  their  nest  on  a tree  close  by  her  father’s  house.  They  came 
regularly  every  year  to  the  same  spot,  and  the  family  always  knew 
the  very  day  of  their  arrival  by  their  joyous  singing.  They  seem- 
ed to  have  the  same  feelings  of  joy  that  people  generally  do  when 
they  return  to  a much-loved  home  after  a long  absence.  At  one 
time  one  of  their  little  ones  fell  from  the  nest.  The  parents  man- 
ifested their  concern  by  flying  about  in  the  most  hurried,  uneasy 
manner,  and  making  mournful  cries.  The  family  pitied  the  poor 


156 


THE  THINKING  OP  ANIMALS. 


The  spider. 


The  thinking  of  animals  in  building  their  dwellings. 


birds,  and  the  little  one  was  carefully  picked  up,  amid  the  flutter- 
ings  and  cries  of  the  old  birds,  and  was  replaced  in  the  nest.  And 
now  the  joy  of  the  parent  birds  over  their  restored  one  was  ex- 
pressed by  a long  and  merry  peal  of  song,  as  they  sat  perched  on 
the  branch  close  by  their  little  nestlings.  At  length  one  of  these 
orioles  died,  and  the  other  left  the  nest  and  never  more  returned. 

See  that  spider  on  his  web.  He  is  watching  for  flies.  The 
mind  in  his  little  brain  thinks  of  every  fly  that  comes  buzzing 
along,  and  is  anxious  that  it  should  get  its  legs  entangled  in  the 
snares  that  he  has  woven.  How  glad  he  feels  when  he  sees  one 
caught  by  these  snares ! And  if  he  thinks  that  they  are  not  strong 
enough  to  hold  the  fly,  he  runs  and  quickly  weaves  some  more 
threads  about  him.  In  the  same  way  do  all  animals  that  catch 
their  prey  think  very  busily  while  they  are  doing  it. 

Animals  think  much  in  building  their  dwellings.  The  bird 
searches  for  what  it  can  use  in  building  its  nest,  and  in  doing  this 
it  thinks.  The  beavers  think  as  they  build  their  dams  and  their 
houses.  They  think  in  getting  their  materials,  and  also  in  arrang- 
ing them,  and  in  plastering  them  together  with  mud. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  thinking  of  animals  ? What  is  told  about  a 
cat?  What  is  said  about  the  sports  of  animals?  Tell  about  the  ants.  Tell  about 
the  owl.  What  is  said  about  animals  taking  care  of  their  young  ? Tell  about  tho 
canary-bird.  Tell  about  the  orioles.  What  is  said  about  the  spider?  What  is 
said  about  animals  building  their  dwellings  ? 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS. 


157 


Stories  about  the  shepherd’s  dog. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

MORE  ABOUT  THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS. 

As  animals  think,  they  learn.  Some  learn  more  than  others. 
The  clog  learns  a good  deal ; so  do  the  monkey  and  the  elephant. 
Some  are  good  at  learning  some  particular  things.  The  parrot 
learns  to  mimic  talking,  though  it  is  quite  stupid  about  some 

other  things.  The  mock- 
ing-bird learns  to  imitate 
a great  many  different 
sounds.  The  shepherd’s 
dog,  seen  here,  though  he 
does  not  know  as  much 
about  most  things  as  dogs 
of  some  other  kinds,  un- 
derstands particularly  well 
how  to  take  care  of  sheep. 
If  he  is  trained  to  this  bu- 
siness, he  will  show  great 
skill  in  doing  it.  James  Hogg,  a Scotch  poet,  commonly  called 
the  Ettrick  Shepherd,  relates  many  wonderful  anecdotes  of  his  dog, 
whom  he  called  Sirrah.  He  says  that  one  night  a large  flock  of 
lambs  got  out  from  their  fold  and  ran  away  among  the  hills. 
When  the  shepherd  said,  “ Sirrah,  they’re  a’  awa’!”  the  dog  dash- 
ed off  after  them,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight.  The  shepherd  also, 


158 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  THINKING  OP  ANIMALS. 


Animals  build  always  the  same  way,  and  have  no  new  fashions. 


and  his  man,  started  off  in  pursuit.  They  searched  all  night,  but 
could  find  nothing  of  the  dog  or  the  lambs ; but  in  the  morning 
they  espied  Sirrah  standing  guard  at  the  mouth  of  a gorge,  or  nar- 
row pass,  and  anxiously  looking  for  his  master  to  come.  He  had 
succeeded  in  finding  all  the  scattered  lambs,  and  here  they  were 
in  this  gorge,  into  which  he  had  driven  them.  It  is  told  of  an- 
other dog  of  this  kind  that  he  would  pick  out  any  stray  sheep  from 
the  midst  of  a whole  flock,  and  drive  it  back  to  the  flock  to  which 
it  belonged.  This  dog  was  once  observed  trying  to  drive  a flock 
over  a bridge  which  they  were  afraid  to  cross.  He  managed  very 
well,  and  at  length  succeeded  in  getting  them  over.  It  was  amus- 
ing to  see  how  he  did  it.  At  one  moment  he  was  driving  up  some 
of  the  scattered  ones,  and  the  next  he  was  among  the  foremost, 
urging  them  forward.  After  a while  he  made  some  of  the  fore- 
most pass  over,  and  then  the  whole  flock  followed. 

Though  animals  think  and  learn,  they  do  not  have  much  orig- 
inality. They  always  do  things  very  much  in  the  same  way. 
They  do  not  keep  contriving  some  new  ways  of  doing  things  as 
men  do.  Each  kind  of  bird  has  its  own  way  of  building  a nest, 
and  it  is  always  the  same  way.  The  robins  build  their  nests 
now  just  as  they  did  hundreds  of  years  ago.  The  moles  build 
their  tunneled  habitations  under  ground  year  after  year  after  the 
plan  that  you  see  on  page  112.  And  so  of  other  animals.  They 
have  no  new  fashions,  and  learn  none  from  each  other.  But  men, 
you  know,  are  always  contriving  new  ways  of  building  houses,  or 
learning  them  from  other  men. 

Many  of  the  tilings  that  animals  know  how  to  do  they  seem  to 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS. 


159 


What  is  done  by  instinct.  liens  hatching  duck’s  eggs  and  sitting  on  pieces  of  chalk. 

know  either  without  learning,  or  without  learning  in  the  same  way 
that  we  learn.  They  are  said  to  do  such  things  by  instinct ; but 
what  instinct  really  is  no  one  can  tell.  It  is  by  this  instinct  that 
birds  build  their  nests,  and  bees  their  honeycombs,  and  beavers 
their  dams  and  huts.  If  these  things  were  all  contrived  and 
thought  out  just  as  men  contrive  houses,  there  would  be  some 
changes  in  the  fashions  of  them,  and  some  improvements.  Nearly 
all  that  we  know  about  this  instinct  is  that  some  very  nice  things 
are  done  by  it,  without  much  thinking  being  mixed  up  with  it. 

This  want  of  thinking  sometimes  leads  to  some  queer  mistakes. 
If  you  put  a duck’s  eggs  in  a hen’s  nest,  she  will  sit  on  them  as 
if  they  were  her  own  eggs,  and  after  the  ducks  are  hatched  she 
will  take  care  of  them,  not  seeming  to  know  that  they  are  not 
chickens.  One  would  suppose  that  she  would  know,  because  they 
look  so  different  from  chickens,  and  have  bills  so  unlike  theirs. 
But  she  does  not  seem  to  think  of  this.  And  it  is  amusing  to  see 
her  after  the  ducks  get  large  enough  to  go  into  the  water.  Off 
they  run,  and  plunge  in,  and  swim  about,  while  the  old  hen  stands 
by  the  water,  greatly  alarmed  lest  they  should  be  drowned.  She 
does  not  understand  it ; she  does  not  know  that  ducklings  have 
an  instinct  different  from  chickens. 

* So,  too,  if  the  hen  has  rounded  pieces  of  chalk  put  in  her  nest, 
she  will  sit  on  them  as  if  they  were  real  eggs.  Her  instinct 
makes  her  sit ; but  if  she  had  much  reason  she  would  not  sit  on 
pieces  of  chalk.  If  she  thought  much,  she  would  find  out  what 
they  were  and  quit  her  nest. 

I have  mentioned  the  building  instinct  of  the  beavers.  An  En- 


ICO 


MOKE  ABOUT  THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS. 


The  building  instinct  of  the  beaver.  IIow  the  minds  of  animals  differ  from  ours. 

glish  gentleman  caught  a young  one  and  put  him  at  first  in  a cage. 
After  a while  he  let  him  out  in  a room  where  there  was  a great 
variety  of  things.  As  soon  as  he  was  let  out  he  began  to  exercise 
his  building  instinct.  He  gathered  together  whatever  he  could 
find,  brushes,  baskets,  boots,  clothes,  sticks,  bits  of  coal,  etc.,  and 
arranged  them  as  if  to  build  a dam.  Now,  if  he  had  his  wits  about 
him,  as  we  should  say,  he  would  have  thought  that  there  was  no 
use  in  building  a dam  where  there  is  no  water.  It  is  from  such 
mistakes  as  these  that  I have  mentioned  that  the  instinct  of  ani- 
mals is  said  to  be  blind. 

It  is  plain  that,  while  animals  learn  about  things  by  their  senses 
as  we  do,  they  do  not  think  nearly  as  much  about  what  they 
learn,  and  this  is  one  reason  that  they  do  not  know  as  much  as 
we  do.  Even  the  wisest  of  them,  as  the  elephant  and  the  dog, 
do  not  think  over  what  they  see  and  hear  very  much. 

But  this  is  not  all.  There  are  some  things  that  we  understand 
about  which  animals  know  nothing.  They  know  nothing  about 
what  happened  before  they  were  bom,  or  what  happens  now  in 
their  lifetime  away  from  them  in  other  places.  They  know  noth- 
ing about  what  is  to  happen.  They  know  nothing  about  God  and 
another  world.  You  can  not  teach  them  any  thing  about  any  such 
subjects.  The  reason  is,  that  while  their  minds  are  like  ours  in 
some  things,  they  are  different  in  other  things. 

You  can  see  this  great  difference  between  your  minds  and  the 
minds  of  animals  in  one  thing.  You  never  would  think  of  telling 
a story  to  a dog  or  a cat  as  you  would  to  a child,  for  you  know 
that  it  would  not  be  understood. 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  THINKING  OF  ANIMALS. 


161 


What  some  wise  men  are  foolish  and  wicked  enough  to  say. 


The  minds  of  animals  are  so  much  unlike  ours  that  they  do  not 
know  the  difference  between  right  and  wrong.  Some  suppose  that 
a dog  will  not  do  certain  things  because  he  knows  that  it  is  wrong 
to  do  them.  But  this  is  not  so.  He  is  afraid  to  do  what  he 
would  be  whipped  for.  If  he  sees  a piece  of  meat  on  a table,  he 
will  not  take  it  simply  because  he  knows  his  master  would  not 
like  it,  and  not  because  he  knows  that  it  is  wrong  to  steal. 

I have  told  you  that  the  mind  uses  the  brain  in  thinking.  Now 
some  learned  men  have  been  so  foolish  as  to  say  that  it  is  the 
brain  itself  that  does  the  thinking,  just  as  if  our  brains,  and  the 
brains  of  all  animals,  are  only  so  many  machines  that  make 
thoughts  and  feelings.  Of  course,  such  men  do  not  believe  that, 
after  death,  the  mind  or  soul  of  man  leaves  the  body  and  lives  sep- 
arate from  it.  They  believe  that  when  the  body  dies  there  is  an 
end  to  every  thing.  But  God  has  told  us  differently  from  this  in 
his  word,  and  he  knows  all  about  such  things  ; and  those  that 
pretend  to  know  that  it  is  not  as  God  says  it  is,  show  great  wick- 
edness as  well  as  folly. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  learning  of  animals  ? Tell  about  the  shep- 
herd’s dog.  What  is  said  about  the  contrivance  of  animals  ? Why  do  they  have 
no  new  fashions  ? What  is  said  about  instinct  ? Tell  about  the  hen’s  hatching 
duck’s  eggs.  Tell  about  her  sitting  on  pieces  of  chalk.  What  is  told  about  tho 
beaver?  What  is  one  reason  that  animals  do  not  know  as  much  as  we  do?  What 
things  do  they  know  nothing  about  ? Do  they  know  the  difference  between  right 
and  wrong  ? What  is  said  about  the  notions  of  some  learned  men  ? 

2 L 


162 


WHAT  SLEEP  IS  FOE. 


The  machinery  of  the  body  needs  seasons  of  rest  for  repairing. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

WHAT  SLEEP  IS  FOR. 

All  animals  have  their  times  for  sleeping.  It  would  not  do  for 
their  minds  to  use  the  machinery  of  the  body  all  the  time ; if  they 
did,  the  machinery  would  soon  wear  out.  The  brain,  and  nerves, 
and  muscles,  etc.,  are  all  repaired  during  sleep,  so  that  they  may 
be  ready  for  use  again. 

When  you  feel  tired,  it  is  because  your  mind  has  worn  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  body  by  using  it.  Now,  when  you  lie  down  and 
sleep,  the  muscles  stop  working ; no  messages  pass  through  the 
nerves,  and  the  brain  is  at  rest,  because  the  mind  pretty  much 
stops  thinking.  But  all  this  time  that  you  sleep  the  blood  keeps 
circulating,  and  the  breathing  goes  on.  What  is  this  for  ? It  is 
that  the  repairing  of  the  machinery  may  be  done,  so  as  to  get  the 
brain,  and  nerves,  and  muscles  ready  for  the  work  and  the  play  of 
to-morrow.  The  repairing,  you  know,  is  all  done  with  the  blood. 
This  is  the  material  for  repairing  as  well  as  for  building,  and  there- 
fore it  must  be  circulating  every  where  while  you  are  asleep,  and 
the  breathing  must  go  on  to  keep  the  blood  in  good  order. 

The  repairing  of  the  body  is  going  on  all  the  time  while  you 
are  awake  as  well  as  when  you  are  asleep.  But  it  goes  on  more 
briskly  when  the  machinery  is  not  in  use  than  when  it  is.  So  we 
may  say  that  when  you  are  asleep  the  machinery  is  lying  by  for 
a full  repair. 


WHAT  SLEEP  IS  FOR. 


163 


The  night  the  time  for  sleep.  Why  merely  keeping  still  will  not  answer. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  building  of  the  body.  More  of  it  is 
done  when  you  are  asleep  than  when  you  are  awake.  You  are 
growing  all  the  time,  but  you  grow  most  when  you  are  asleep. 
And  it  is  because  the  child  is  growing  that  he  needs  more  sleep 
than  the  adult  does.  The  baby  is  growing  very  fast,  and  so  he 
sleeps  a great  deal  of  his  time  in  the  day  as  well  as  in  the  night. 

The  night  is  given  to  us  as  the  time  to  sleep.  Then  it  is  dark 
and  still,  and  we  can  go  to  sleep  easily.  Most  animals  sleep 
through  the  night.  You  remember  that  I told  you,  in  Chapter  X., 
Part  First,  how  still  the  garden  becomes  as  evening  comes  on. 
The  flies,  and  bees,  and  bugs,  and  birds  have  gone  to  rest,  to  get 
repaired  for  the  next  day ; so,  too,  have  the  larger  animals.  But 
it  is  curious  that  some  animals  are  busy  in  the  night,  and  take 
their  sleep  in  the  day.  It  is  so  with  the  owl  and  the  bat.  The 
katydid,  you  know,  does  not  begin  its  noise  till  evening.  I sup- 
pose that  it  sleeps  in  the  daytime. 

Those  people  that  stay  up  late  at  night,  and  do  not  get  up  early 
in  the  morning,  make  a great  mistake.  They  do  not  take  the 
right  time  for  sleeping.  They  ought  not  to  turn  night  into  day, 
as  bats,  and  owls,  and  katydids  do,  for  they  are  not  made  for  it. 

When  you  are  tired  and  need  sleep,  the  trouble  is  not  merely 
in  the  muscles.  If  it  was,  then  keeping  still  merely,  without  sleep- 
ing, would  answer.  But  the  brain  and  nerves  need  repairing  as 
well  as  the  muscles.  But  as  long  as  you  are  seeing,  and  hearing, 
and  feelijig,  the  nerves  are  kept  too  busy  to  be  repaired  well ; and 
as  long  as  your  mind  keeps  thinking,  the  brain  does  not  get 
thoroughly  repaired.  So,  then,  merely  keeping  still  will  only  re- 


164 


WHAT  SLEEP  IS  FOE. 


Dreaming.  The  winter  sleep  of  some  animals.  The  long  sleep  of  a toad. 

pair  the  muscles ; and  sleep  is  needed  to  repair  the  brain  and  the 
nerves. 

You  know  that  when  you  dream  very  much  you  are  not  as 
much  refreshed  as  when  you  sleep  soundly.  What  is  the  reason  ? 
It  is  because  that  when  you  dream  the  mind  is  not  wholly  at  rest, 
and  works  the  brain,  so  that  it  is  not  thoroughly  repaired. 

There  is  another  kind  of  sleep  into  which  some  animals  go.  It 
is  a very  long  sleep.  It  lasts  all  winter.  Great  numbers  of  such 
animals  as  frogs,  bats,  flies,  and  spiders,  go  into  by-places  in  the 
fall  to  sleep  till  spring  comes.  Many  of  the  birds  do  this. 

It  is  a deeper  sleep  than  that  which  animals  go  into  at  night. 
It  is  a different  kind  of  sleep.  In  the  sleep  at  night  the  blood 
keeps  moving,  and  the  animal  breathes ; but  in  this  winter  sleep 
there  is  no  breathing,  and  the  blood  stops  circulating.  All  is  as 
still  as  death.  But  there  is  life  there,  just  as  I told  you,  in  Part 
First,  there  is  life  in  the  seed,  and  in  the  trees  that  look  so  dead 
in  winter.  It  is  life  asleep.  The  warmth  of  spring  wakes  up 
again  the  life  in  these  animals,  as  it  does  the  life  in  the  trees. 
The  blood  then  begins  to  circulate  in  them,  as  the  sap  does  in  the 
trees,  and  they  come  out  from  their  hiding-places. 

I have  said  that  this  sleep  which  some  animals  go  into  lasts 
through  the  winter.  It  may  be  made  to  last  longer  than  this. 
Some  frogs  were  once  kept  in  this  winter  sleep  for  over  three  years 
in  an  ice-house  ; and  then,  on  being  brought  out  into  the  warm  air, 
revived  and  hopped  about  as  lively  as  ever.  We  do  not  know  how 
much  longer  they  might  have  been  kept  in  this  sleep.  You  re- 
member that  in  Part  First,  Chapter  XV.,  I told  you  about  some 


WHAT  SLEEP  IS  FOR. 


165 


The  winter  sleep  of  some  animals  not  perfectly  sound. 


seeds  in  which  the  life  was  asleep  many  hundred  years.  And  it 
may  be  that  the  life  might  be  kept  asleep  in  frogs  and  other  ani- 
mals as  long  as  this  by  steady  cold.  A toad  was  found  lately  in 
the  middle  of  a tree  fast  asleep.  How  he  came  there  was  not 
known,  but  the  wood  had  kept  growing  year  after  year,  and  as 
there  were  67  rings  outside  of  the  toad,  it  was  clear  that  he  had 
been  there  67  years.  A long  sleep  it  was,  but  he  soon  woke  up 
and  hopped  about  like  other  toads. 

There  are  some  kinds  of  animals  that  crawl  into  winter  quar- 
ters in  whom  life  is  not  wholly  asleep.  The  blood  moves  a little, 
and  they  once  in  a while  take  a breath ; and,  besides,  they  now 
and  then,  when  the  weather  is  quite  warm,  wake  up  enough  to  eat 
a little.  Now  it  is  curious  that  such  animals  always  lay  up  some- 
thing to  eat  right  alongside  of  them  when  they  go  into  their  win- 
ter sleeping-places.  But  those  who  do  not  wake  up  at  all  do  not 
lay  up  any  food,  for  it  would  not  be  used  if  they  did  lay  it  up. 
They  are  governed  by  instinct  in  this  matter. 

The  field-mouse  lays  up  at  its  side  nuts  and  grain  when  it  goes 
into  its  winter  quarters,  and  when  it  is  partly  waked  up  by  a 
warm  day,  eats  a little  of  his  store.  The  bat  does  not  lay  up  any 
thing,  although  he  wakes  up  when  it  is  warm.  He  does  not  need 
to  lay  up  any  thing,  because  the  warmth  that  wakes  him  up  wakes 
up  also  gnats  and  insects  on  which  he  lives.  He  catches  some 
of  these,  and  then,  as  he  finds  himself  going  to  sleep  again,  he 
hangs  himself  up  by  his  hooks  as  before.  The  marmot  or  wood- 
chuck does  not  wake  up  at  all,  but  he  always  lays  up  some  dried 
grass  in  his  hole.  What  is  this  for?  He  feeds  on  it  when  he 


166 


WHAT  SLEEP  IS  FOR. 


How  much  life  is  asleep  in  the  winter.  Flight  of  birds  south  in  winter. 

first  wakes  up  in  the  spring,  to  get  a little  strength  before  he  comes 
out  from  his  hole. 

How  much  life,  then,  is  asleep  in  the  winter  in  animals  as  well 
as  in  plants  ! And  how  busy  is  life  in  its  waking  in  the  spring ! 
While  the  roots  and  seeds  in  the  ground  send  up  their  shoots,  and 
the  sap  again  circulates  in  the  trees  and  shrubs,  and  the  buds 
swell,  multitudes  of  animals  are  crawling  out  of  their  winter  hiding- 
places  into  the  warm,  balmy  air.  And  when  the  leaves  are  fully 
out,  and  the  flowers  abound,  the  earth  swarms  with  the  busy  in- 
sects, and  birds,  and  creeping  things,  of  which  we  saw  none  during 
the  winter. 

Some  of  the  birds  that  we  see  in  the  spring  have  not  been  asleep 
during  the  cold  weather,  but  have  spent  their  winter  at  the  South, 
and  have  now  winged  their  way  back  to  spend  their  summer  with 
us.  They  go  back  and  forth  in  this  way  every  year,  guided  by 
that  wonderful  and  mysterious  thing,  instinct.  How  this  makes 
them  take  their  flight  at  the  right  time,  and  in  the  right  direction, 
we  do  not  understand. 

Questions.— Why  do  animals  need  sleep  ? Why  do  you  feel  tired  after  work,  or 
play,  or  study  ? Why  does  the  blood  circulate  and  the  breathing  go  on  in  sleep  ? 
When  is  most  of  the  repairing  of  the  body  done  ? How  is  it  with  its  growth  ? What 
is  said  about  night  as  the  time  for  sleep  ? Mention  some  animals  that  sleep  in  the 
day  and  are  awake  in  the  night.  What  is  said  about  people  that  turn  night  into 
day?  Why  would  not  merely  keeping  the  body  still,  without  sleeping,  answer  for 
our  rest?  What  is  said  about  dreaming?  What  is  said  of  the  winter  sleep  of 
some  animals  ? Tell  about  the  frogs  and  the  toad.  Why  do  some  animals  take 
food  into  their  winter  sleeping-places  ? Tell  about  the  field-mouse,  the  bat,  and  the 
marmot.  What  is  said  about  the  waking  up  of  life  in  the  spring  in  animals  and  in 
plants  ? What  is  said  about  the  birds  ? 


THE  CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE, 


FOR  THE  USE  OF 

FAMILIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 


INTENDED  TO  AID  MOTHERS  AND  TEACHERS  IN  TRAINING  CHILDREN 
IN  THE  OBSERVATION  OF  NATURE. 


IN  THREE  PARTS. 

PART  III.— AIR,  WATER,  HEAT,  LIGHT,  &c. 


By  WORTHINGTON  HOOKER,  M.D., 

AUTHOR  OP  “FIRST  BOOK  IN  CHEMISTRY,”  “CHEMISTRY,”  “NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY,’ * 
“NATURAL  HISTORY,”  ETC. 


iXJitl)  Illustrations. 


NEW  YORK: 

HARPER  & BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 
FRANKLIN  SQUARE. 

18  8 2. 


By  Dr.  WORTHINGTON  HOOKER. 


THE  CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE.  For  the  Use  of  Families  and  Schools;  intended  to 
aid  Mothers  and  Teachers  in  training  Children  in  the  Observation  of  Nature.  In  threa 
Parts.  Illustrations.  The  Three  Parts  complete  in  one  vol.,  Small  4to,  Cloth,  $1  00; 
Separately,  Cloth,  Part  I.,  40  cents;  Parts  II.  and  III.,  44  cents  each. 

Part  I.  PLANTS.— Part  II.  ANIMALS.— Part  III.  AIR,  WATER,  HEAT,  LIGHT, &o. 

FIRST  BOOK  IN  CHEMISTRY.  For  the  Use  of  Schools  and  Families.  Revised  Edition. 
Illustrations.  Square  4to,  Cloth,  44  cents. 

NATURAL  HISTORY.  For  the  Use  of  Schools  and  Families.  Illustrated  by  nearly  300 
Engravings.  12mo,  Cloth,  90  cents. 

SCIENCE  FOR  THE  SCHOOL  AND  FAMILY. 

Part  I.  NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  Illustrated  by  nearly  300  Engravings.  12mo, 
Cloth,  90  cents. 

Part  II.  CHEMISTRY.  Revised  Edition.  Illustrations.  12mo,  Cloth,  90  cents. 
Part  III.  MINERALOGY  AND  GEOLOGY.  Illustrations.  12mo,  Cloth,  90  cents. 


Published  by  HARPER  & BROTHERS,  Franklin  Square,  N.  Y. 

Either  of  the  above  volumes  will  be  sent  by  mail,  postage  prepaid , to  any  part  of  the  United 
States  or  Canada , on  receipt  of  the  price. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundrd  and  fifty- 
seven,  by  Harper  & Brothers,  in  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern 
District  Court  of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


There  is  no  obvious  connection  between  the  subjects  now  to 
be  considered  and  those  which  were  presented  in  Parts  First  and 
Second.  But,  after  looking  at  what  is  of  interest  in  the  plants 
and  animals  that  live  in  air  and  water,  it  seems  appropriate  to 
pass  to  the  examination  of  the  phenomena  that  air  and  water 
themselves  furnish  to  us.  And  then  with  these  subjects  are  nat- 
urally associated  the  other  subjects  contained  in  this  Part — light, 
heat,  electricity,  etc. 

Let  me  not  be  understood  to  say  that  the  subjects  treated  in 
this  Part  are  entirely  disconnected  from  those  in  the  other  two 
Parts.  There  are  many  points  of  connection,  resulting  from  the 
dependence  of  life  upon  air,  water,  heat,  etc.,  and  also  from  the  me- 
chanical principles  that  are  brought  into- operation  in  the  living 
machinery  of  both  plants  and  animals.  Still,  the  connection  is 
not  of  that  obvious  and  intimate  character  which  we  see  between 
the  subjects  of  Parts  First  and  Second. 

I have  placed  these  subjects  last  in  the  Child’s  Book  of  Nature 
because  they  are  not,  for  the  most  part,  so  easily  understood  as 
the  subjects  contained  in  the  other  Parts.  The  mind  of  the  learn- 
er needs  the  training  in  observation  and  reasoning  which  it  has  in 
studying  the  phenomena  of  plants  and  animals  to  enable  it  to 


IV 


PREFACE. 


grasp  all  of  the  points  which  are  here  presented ; and  as  in  mat- 
ter, so  in  style,  I have  supposed  an  advance  of  mental  power  in 
the  learner.  I have  relaxed  a little  my  strictness  in  simplicity. 
Indeed,  I did  so  in  a small  degree  in  the  Second  Part.  I have 
been  careful,  however,  not  to  allow  myself  too  much  latitude  in 
this  respect,  but  have  endeavored  throughout  to  make  the  advance 
both  in  style  and  matter  to  correspond  with  the  advance  of  mental 
capacity  in  the  learner,  and  not  go  beyond  it. 

The  subjects  of  this  Part  are  those  which  are  commonly  ranged 
under  the  general  term  Natural  Philosophy.  They  are  not  pre- 
sented either  formally  or  fully,  but  those  points  are  selected  which 
will  interest  a young  beginner  and  be  intelligible  to  him.  I have 
made  it  an  object  to  exclude  all  that  are  of  a different  character, 
for  it  is  very  important  that  the  young  learner  should  not  be  dis- 
couraged with  difficulties  and  burdened  with  uninteresting  matters 
at  the  outset. 

It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  in  making  the  selection  alluded 
to,  I have,  after  all,  given  quite  a full  view  of  the  fundamental 
parts  of  the  different  subjects.  The  simple  principles  which  form 
the  basis  of  Natural  Philosophy  are  most  of  them  very  fully  illus- 
trated. And  I can  not  forbear  remarking  that  many  older  schol- 
ars, who  have  pursued  the  study  in  the  more  formal  manner  com- 
mon in  our  schools,  might  find  their  ideas  rendered  more  clear 
and  definite  by  looking  at  the  simple  views  here  presented. 

I would  call  the  attention  of  the  teacher  to  one  feature  in  my 
mode  of  developing  scientific  subjects  to  the  young,  which  I deem 
to  be  of  great  importance.  I observe  a natural  gradation  in  their’ 
development,  beginning  with  the  simplest  views,  and  leading  the 


PREFACE. 


V 

learner  gradually  to  those  that  are  more  complex  and  less  easily 
understood.  Not  only  is  one  thing  given  at  a time,  but  each  thing 
is  put  in  its  right  place.  I will  cite  a single  example.  Take 
what  is  said  about  air.  First,  the  simple  and  single  fact  that  it 
is  a material  thing  is  illustrated.  This  is  followed  by  noticing 
what  it  does  when  in  motion.  Then  I show  how,  by  its  resist- 
ance, birds  and  insects  rise  on  the  wing.  Next  I pass  to  the 
pressure  of  the  air,  first  illustrating,  in  a simple  way,  the  fact  of 
its  pressure  in  all  directions,  and  then  passing  to  show  how  its 
pressure  operates  in  the  pump  and  in  the  barometer.  Then  come 
illustrations  of  its  pressure  as  exhibited  in  experiments  with  the 
air-pump,  the  immense  pressure  which  the  body  sustains  from  it, 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  does  this  being  especially  noticed  and 
explained.  Next  follows  the  elasticity  of  the  air  when  compress- 
ed, illustrated  by  the  operation  of  pop-guns,  air-guns,  etc.  Then 
is  illustrated  the  pressure  of  the  air  in  making  balloons,  bubbles, 
and  other  light  things  rise  in  it.  This  leads  naturally  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  rising  of  smoke  and  the  operation  of  chimneys. 
And  then,  lastly,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  book,  the  action  of  the 
attraction  of  gravitation  upon  the  air  is  noticed,  thus  ultimately 
arriving  at  the  real  cause  of  most  of  the  phenomena  of  the  air’s 
pressure. 

Another  feature,  to  which  I will  barely  allude,  is  a frequent  ref- 
erence to  analogies.  Thus,  for  example,  in  giving  the  facts  about 
air,  I point  out  the  resemblance  between  flying  and  swimming,  be- 
tween the  action  of  compressed  air  and  that  of  compressed  steam, 
and  of  the  gases  produced  by  burning  powder,  etc.  This  feature 
not  only  adds  interest  to  the  various  subjects,  but  makes  the 


VI 


PREFACE. 


points  in  hand  more  clear,  and  gives  a wider  range  to  the  views 
of  the  learner. 

It  is  the  author’s  intention  to  follow  this  with  other  books  cal- 
culated to  carry  forward  the  scholar  in  his  observation  of  nature. 
Indeed,  I have  already  published  two  books,  “ First  Book  in  Phys- 
iology” and  “ Human  Physiology,”  by  which  the  scholar  can  pro- 
ceed with  the  study  of  the  subjects  treated  of  in  Part  Second  of 
this  book ; and  as  soon  as  I can  do  so,  I shall  write  some  books 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  to  go  on  with  the  study  of  the 
subjects  treated  of  in  the  other  Parts.  The  whole  together  will 
constitute  to  some  extent  a series  of  books  on  the  sciences,  adapt- 
ed to  the  different  degrees  of  advancement  in  the  pupils. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  this  Part  there  are  many  experiments 
spoken  of.  These  the  teacher  should  try  before  the  pupils  so  far 
as  is  practicable.  I have  also  made  extensive  use  of  common  phe- 
nomena as  illustrations  of  the  points  presented.  This  will  tend 
to  form  in  the  scholar  the  habit  of  observing  what  is  just  around 
him — the  common  things,  so  much  overlooked  in  education — a 
habit  which  is  a never-failing  source  of  information  and  enjoyment. 
And  both  teacher  and  scholar,  if  they  catch  the  spirit  which  I have 
endeavored  to  infuse  into  the  book,  will  from  their  own  observa- 
tion add  to  the  illustrations  that  I have  given,  and  thus  material 
ly  increase  the  interest  of  the  daily  recitations. 

Worthington  Hooker. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  TAGS 

I.  AIR 9 

II.  AIR  IN  MOTION 13 

III.  FLYING  AND  SWIMMING 18 

IY.  THE  PRESSURE  OF  THE  AIR 25 

Y.  PUMPS 30 

YI.  THE  BAROMETER 3G 

VII.  THE  AIR-PUMP 39 

VIII.  GASES 44 

IX.  POWDER 48 

X.  POP-GUNS 53 

XI.  BALLOONS  AND  BUBBLES 57 

XII.  MORE  ABOUT  BALLOONS 63 

XIII.  HEATED  AIR 68 

XI Y.  CHIMNEYS 72 

XV.  USES  OF  WATER 77 

XYI.  WATER  ALWAYS  TRYING  TO  BE  LEVEL 81 

XVII.  THE  PRESSURE  OF  WATER 87 

XVIII.  ATTRACTION  IN  SOLIDS  AND  FLUIDS 92 

XIX.  WATER  IN  THE  AIR 97 

XX.  CLOUDS 101 

XXI.  SNOW,  FROST,  AND  ICE 105 

XXII.  HEAT  AND  COLD 110 

XXill.  THE  DIFFUSION  OF  HEAT * H4 


Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIV.  WHAT  HEAT  DOES 120 

XXV.  STEAM 125 

XXVI.  LIGHT 130 

XXVII.  COLOR 135 

XXVIII.  MORE  ABOUT  COLOR 130 

XXIX.  ELECTRICITY 144 

XXX.  MORE  ABOUT  ELECTRICITY 150 

XXXI.  MAGNETISM 155 

XXXII.  GRAVITATION 159 

XXXIII.  THE  MOTION  OP  THE  EARTH 165 

XXXIV.  FRICTION 172 

XXXV.  CONCLUSION 176 


THE 


CHILD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE. 

PART  III— AIR,  WATER,  HEAT,  LIGHT,  ETC. 


E speak  of  a room  having  no  furniture  in  it  as  being  empty ; 


but  this  is  not  exactly  so.  There  is  one  thing  that  it  is  full 
of  up  to  its  very  top.  It  is  a thing  that  you  can  not  see ; but  it 
is  as  really  a thing  as  the  furniture  that  you  can  both  see  and 
feel.  This  thing  is  air. 

If  you  take  all  your  books  out  of  a box  in  which  you  keep  them, 
you  think  of  the  box  as  having  nothing  in  it ; but  it  is  full  of  air ; 
and  when  you  shut  it  up  and  put  it  away,  you  put  away  a box 
full  of  air.  When  the  books  were  in  it,  it  was  full  of  books  and 
air  together ; but  now  it  is  full  of  air  alone. 

You  see  some  boys  playing  foot-ball.  What  is  it  that  they  are 
kicking  about  ? It  is  an  India-rubber  ball,  you  will  say.  But  is 
this  all  ? Is  there  not  something  else  besides  the  India-rubber  ? 
Suppose  that  you  prick  a hole  in  the  ball.  It  is  good  for  noth- 
ing now  ; but  the  India-rubber  is  all  there.  What  makes  it  good 


CHAPTER  I. 


AIK. 


Air,  a thing. 


10 


AIR. 


Life-preservers.  Boats.  Life  boats. 

for  nothing  ? It  is  because  the  air  escapes  from  the  hole.  The 
ball  is  of  no  use  unless  you  can  keep  it  full  of  that  thing  that  we 
call  air ; and  in  playing  with  it,  you  kick  about  air  locked  up  in 
the  India-rubber. 

You  have  heard  of  life-preservers,  and  perhaps  you  have  seen 
them.  They  are  India-rubber  bags  that  you  can  fill  with  air  by 
blowing  into  them.  They  are  made  of  such  a shape  that  they  can 
be  tied  around  the  body.  When  used  in  this  way,  a life-preserver 
will  keep  one  from  sinking  in  water.  But  why  ? It  is  the  air  in  it 
that  does  this.  The  air  is  as  really  a thing  as  the  water  is,  but  it 
is  a lighter  thing,  and  therefore  a thing  full  of  air  will  float  on  the 
water.  If  you  kick  a foot-ball  into  the  water,  it  will  float,  because 
it  is  full  of  that  light  thing — air.  But  if  you  should  prick  a hole 
in  it,  and  press  out  the  air,  and  then  throw  it  into  the  water,  it 
would  sink.  So,  too,  the  life-preserver  would  do  no  good  if  you 
tie  it  around  you  without  blowing  it  up.  It  is  the  air  that  you 
blow  into  it  that  buoys  you  up  in  the  water. 

Why  does  a boat  float  on  the  water?  It  is  not  because  the 
boat  itself  is  lighter  than  the  water  is.  It  is  commonly  heavier, 
because  there  is  so  much  iron  about  it.  The  reason  that  it  floats 
is  that  it  is  full  of  air.  Even  a boat  made  entirely  of  iron  will 
float  for  the  same  reason.  But  if  there  should  be  a leak,  so  that 
the  boat  can  be  filled  with  water,  it  will  sink.  So,  too,  it  will 
sink  if  you  put  too  much  weight  in  it. 

You  have  heard  of  life-boats.  These  are  made  in  such  a way 
that  they  will  not  sink,  even  if  they  are  filled  with  water.  How 
do  you  think  that  they  are  made  to  be  so  much  lighter  than  other 


AIR. 


11 


> 


IIow  life-boats  are  made. 


We  can  feel  air,  but  can  not  see  it. 


boats?  It  is  not  because  they  are  built  of  different  materials. 
They  are  made  of  wood,  and  are  fastened  together  in  every  part 
I with  iron.  Sometimes  they  are  made  entirely  of  iron.  But  they 
are  built  in  a different  way  from  common  boats.  They  are  made 
double,  and  in  such  a way  that  there  are  chambers  of  air  between 
the  two  parts.  These  chambers  are  air-tight.  If  they  were  not 
they  would  do  no  good.  If  there  were  any  opening  into  these 
chambers,  the  water  would  go  in  and  force  out  the  air.  The  boat 
would  no  longer  be  a life-boat.  It  would  be  of  no  more  use  than 
a life-preserver  with  no  air  in  it,  or  with  water  instead  of  air. 

You  can  not  see  air,  although  it  is  a thing;  but  you  can  some- 
times feel  it.  You  can  not  feel  it  while  it  is  still,  as  you  can  such 
things  as  a table  or  water.  You  can  only  feel  it  when  it  is  in 
motion.  When  the  wind  blows  upon  you,  it  is  air  in  motion 
that  you  feel.  When  there  is  a gust  of  wind,  as  we  say,  the 
air  comes  against  you  just  as  a wave  of  water  does.  When  you 
fan  yourself,  you  make  the  air  strike  upon  your  face,  and  you 
feel  it  as  you  feel  any  thing  else  that  strikes  you,  as  water  or  a 
stick. 

The  air  is  transparent,  or  clear,  like  glass;  that  is,  it  lets  the 
light  come  through  it  to  your  eyes.  Sometimes  glass  is  not  clear, 
and  you  can  not  see  things  plainly  through  it.  So,  also,  the  air  is 
sometimes  not  clear,  as  when  there  is  dust  flying  in  it,  or  when 
there  is  a fog. 

Though  you  can  not  see  air,  you  can  see  what  it  does  when  it  is 
in  motion.  You  can  see  it  move  the  trees  and  other  things.  This 
I will  tell  you  about  in  the  next  chapter. 


12 


AIR. 


Air  necessary  to  life. 


Nothing  can  burn  without  air. 


The  air  is  a thing  which  is  necessary  to  our  life.  If  it  be  shut 
out  in  any  way  from  our  lungs,  great  distress  is  immediately  pro- 
duced ; and  if  it  be  shut  out  only  for  a few  minutes,  death  occurs. 
I have  told  you  in  Part  II.,  in  the  chapter  on  breathing,  why  it 
is  that  breathing  air  is  so  necessary  to  life. 

Air  is  as  necessary  to  the  life  of  plants  as  it  is  to  the  life  of 
animals.  In  animals  the  air  is  used  by  lungs,  but  in  plants  it  is 
used  by  the  leaves.  This  I have  told  you  about  in  the  chapter  on 
the  uses  of  leaves,  in  Part  I. 

Air  is  needed  for  another  thing.  Nothing  can  burn  without 
air.  It  is  the  air  that  makes  wood,  and  coal,  and  oil,  and  gas 
burn  when  fire  is  put  to  them. 

The  air  that  is  all  around  the  earth  does  not  reach  to  the  sun, 
and  moon,  and  stars.  It  extends  about  forty-five  miles  above  the 
earth.  Beyond  this  there  is  no  air.  You  will  want  to  know  how 
this  was  found  out,  as  no  one  has  ever  been  so  far  from  the  earth. 
I will  not  explain  this  to  you  now,  for  you  are  not  old  enough  to 
understand  it. 

Questions. — What  is  a room  full  of  when  the  furniture  is  all  taken  out?  Tell 
about  the  box  of  books  and  about  the  foot-ball.  What  is  said  about  life-preservers  ? 
Why  does  a boat  float  on  the  water  ? How  are  life-boats  made  ? Can  you  see 
air  ? Can  you  feel  it  when  it  is  still  ? What  is  wind  ? What  is  said  about  the 
transparency  of  air  ? What  is  said  about  its  being  necessary  to  the  life  of  animals  ? 
What  about  its  being  necessary  to  the  life  of  plants  ? What  else  is  air  needed  for  ? 
How  high  does  the  air  extend  ? 


AIR  IN  MOTION. 


13 


How  a ship  is  moved  along  by  air. 


CHAPTER  II. 

AIR  IN  MOTION. 

The  air,  when  it  is  in  motion,  does  a great  deal  of  work  for  us. 
It  pushes  along  the  ships  in  the  water.  Perhaps  you  think  that 
it  hardly  sounds  right  to  say  that  the  air  pushes  the  ships ; but  it 
really  does  push  them.  The  sails  are  large,  broad  handles  for  the 


14 


AIR  IN  MOTION. 


A coat  used  as  a sail. 


Trees  blown  by  the  wind. 


air  to  press  against  in  pushing  the  vessels  along  in  the  water. 
On  the  preceding  page  is  a ship  with  many  sails,  and  most  of  them 
are  unfurled,  or  put  out  for  the  breeze  to  press  upon. 

The  air  would  push  a vessel  along  to  some  extent,  even  if  there 
were  no  sails,  by  pressing  or  blowing  against  the  body  of  the 
vessel ; but,  unless  the  wind  blew  very  strong,  the  air  would  not 
push  it  along  very  fast  in  this  way.  And  so  sails  are  put  up  on 
masts,  that  more  of  the  air  may  get  hold,  as  we  may  say,  so  as  to 
press  on  the  vessel. 


Sometimes  the  wind  helps  you  along 
as  you  are  walking.  Now,  if  you  take 
hold  of  your  coat,  and  spread  it  out 
wide,  as  you  see  this  boy  is  doing,  it 
will  be  like  a sail,  and  the  wind  will 
carry  you  along  faster,  because  there  is 
more  for  the  air  to  press  upon.  So, 
too,  if  you  have  an  umbrella  open  when 
the  wind  is  blowing  on  your  back,  it 
will  be  to  you  as  the  sail  is  to  the 
ship.  But  if  you  are  going  against 
the  wind,  the  outspread  coat  and  the 
open  umbrella  would  prevent  your  getting  along  fast. 

When  a tree  is  bare,  the  wind  scarcely  moves  its  branches  ; but 
how  it  bends  when  it  is  full  of  leaves  and  the  wind  blows  strong- 
ly upon  it ! It  is  then  like  a ship  with  its  sails  all  unfurled ; 
there  is  a great  deal  for  the  air  to  press  upon. 

Sometimes  wTe  say  the  wind  blows  very  hard  or  very  strong ; 


AIR  IN  MOTION. 


15 


Fast-moving  air. 


The  bullet. 


The  locomotive. 


this  is  when  the  air  moves  very  fast.  The  faster  it  moves,  the 
more  it  will  do.  This  is  so  with  other  things.  When  you  strike 
any  thing  very  hard  with  a stick,  you  do  it  by  making  the  stick 
move  fast.  When  there  is  only  a gentle  breeze,  that  you  can  just 
feel,  the  air  is  moving  very  slowly  ; it  is  like  the  gentle  touch  with 
the  stick.  But  when  the  wind  blows  so  hard  that  you  can  scarce- 
ly stand  up,  the  air  is  moving  very  fast. 

If  a bullet  is  tossed  to  you,  it  will  not  hurt  you  to  catch  it,  be- 
cause it  does  not  move  very  fast ; but  if  a bullet  shot  from  a gun 
should  hit  your  hand,  it  would  wound  it,  and  perhaps  go  through 
it.  The  reason  is,  that  the  bullet  moves  so  fast.  The  faster  it 
moves,  the  more  harm  it  will  do.  So  the  air,  when  it  moves  very 
fast  indeed,  is  apt,  like  the  bullet,  to  do  harm. 

You  have  seen  a locomotive  backed  up  against  a train  of  cars 
to  be  hitched  on.  It  does  no  damage,  because  it  is  backed  up 
slowly.  It  only  gives  a little  jerk,  you  know,  to  the  whole  train. 
Now,  if  it  moved  very  fast,  it  would,  when  it  came  to  the  cars, 
break  them  to  pieces.  It  is  for  the  same  reason  that  fast-moving 
air  roots  up  trees,  blows  down  houses,  and  drives  ships  on  shore, 
dashing  them  against  the  rocks. 

When  the  wind  blows  hard,  the  sailor  takes  in  some  of  his  sails. 
The  vessel  would  go  too  fast  if  he  left  them  all  out,  because  there 
would  be  so  much  for  the  air  to  press  on.  If  the  wind  blows  very 
hard  indeed,  he  takes  down  all  the  sails,  fastening  them  very  tight- 
ly, so  that  the  wind  may  not  loosen  them.  Even  with  all  the  sails 
down  the  ship  will  go  quite  fast  enough,  perhaps  even  too  fast, 
pushed  along  by  the  wind  that  strikes  right  upon  it.  Here  is  a 


16 


AIR  IN  MOTION. 


Ship  in  a storm. 


How  waves  are  made. 


ship  in  a storm.  You  see  how  the  sailors  have  tied  up  most  of 
the  sails.  One  of  them  has  been  torn  from  its  fastenings  by  the 
violence  of  the  wind,  and  is  in  tatters. 

The  waves  that  you  sometimes  see  rise  so  high  are  made  by 
^the  striking  of  the  air  upon  the  water;  and  the  faster  the  air 
moves  over  the  water,  the  higher  they  rise.  When  the  air  is  very 
still  there  is  scarcely  a ripple,  and  the  water  looks  like  smooth 
glass ; and  you  would  hardly  think,  as  you  look  upon  it,  that 


AIR  IN  MOTION. 


17 


Small  and  great  whirlwinds. 


such  a light  thing  as  air  is  could  whip  it  into  such  waves  as  you 
sometimes  see. 

The  waves  in  the  ocean  are  much  higher  than  they  are  in  a 
river.  This  is  because  the  wind  blows  over  so  much  greater  an 
extent  of  water  in  the  ocean. 

You  have  heard  of  whirlwinds.  In  these  the  air  moves  in  a 
whirling  way  instead  of  straight  forward.  You  sometimes  see  lit- 
tle whirlwinds  in  the  street ; and  as  shavings  and  other  light  things 
are  whirled  about  in  them,  and  are  carried  up  in  the  air,  you  can 
imagine  what  damage  large  whirlwinds  can  do,  twisting  up  trees 
and  tearing  houses  in  pieces. 

As  you  can  not  see  the  air,  and  it  is  a very  light  thing,  you 
commonly  think  of  it  as  being  almost  nothing,  and  yet  it  does 
these  great  things  that  I have  mentioned.  When  we  see  this 
light  thing  raise  the  waves,  and  move  the  heavy  ships  along  so 
swiftly,  we  see  that  there  is  great  power  in  it. 

Questions. — How  does  the  air  make  a ship  go  ? What  is  the  need  of  sails  ? What 
is  said  about  the  air’s  helping  you  along  in  walking  ? Why  does  the  wind  bend  a 
tree  so  much  that  is  covered  with  leaves  ? What  is  true  about  the  air  when  the 
wind  blows  hard?  Give  the  comparison  about  the  stick,  the  bullet,  and  the  loco- 
motive. Why  does  the  sailor  take  down  some  of  his  sails  when  the  wind  blows 
hard  ? What  is  said  about  weaves  ? Why  are  they  higher  in  an  ocean  than  in  a 
river  ? What  is  said  about  whirlwinds  ? 


8 


B 


18 


FLYING  AND  SWIMMING. 


How  wings  raise  the  birds  in  the  air. 


Why  they  are  so  large. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FLYING  AND  SWIMMING. 

You  can  jump  off  from  the  ground  just  a little  way  into  the  air, 
but  you  can  not  fly  into  it,  as  the  birds  do.  It  is  because  you 
have  no  wings.  But  how  is  it  that  the  birds  fly  with  their  wings  ? 
They  push  themselves  up  with  them  into  the  air.  But  perhaps 
you  will  say  that  they  do  not  have  any  thing  to  push  against,  for 
there  is  nothing  but  air  about  them.  Now  it  is  the  air  itself  that 
they  push  against.  They  press  down  upon  the  air  with  their 
wings,  just  as  you  press  with  your  feet  on  the  ground  when  you 
jump  up  ; and  as  the  bird,  when  it  gets  once  started,  keeps  work- 
ing its  wings,  it  goes  up  and  up,  pushing  down  against  the  air 
each  time  that  its  wings  are  moved. 

It  is  necessary  that  birds  should  have  very  large  wings  to  raise 
themselves  up  thus  in  the  air.  If  their  wings  were  small,  they 
would  do  no  good,  because  they  would  not  press  upon  enough  of 
the  air.  You  can  move  your  hands  in  the  same  way  that  the 
bird  does  its  wings,  but  you  can  not  raise  yourself  off  from  the 
ground.  Why?  Because  your  hands  are  so  small  that  they 
press  only  upon  a little  of  the  air.  If  your  hands  were  as  broad 
for  you  as  the  wings  of  birds  are  for  them,  and  you  had  the  proper 
muscles  to  work  them,  you  could  fly. 

You  can  learn  to  fly,  but  it  is  in  the  water,  and  not  in  the  air, 
that  you  can  do  it.  Swimming  is  really  flying  in  water.  The 


FLYING  AND  SWIMMING. 


19 


Flying  in  water. 


The  kite. 


The  tail  of  a fish  like  a sculling  oar. 


hands  and  feet  do  for  the  swimmer  what  the  wings  do  for  the  bird. 
He  presses  against  the  water  with  his  hands  and  feet  in  the  same 
way  that  the  bird  does  against  the  air  with  its  wings.  Some- 
times you  see  a bird  dive 
down  from  a great  way 
up  in  the  air,  in  the  same 
way  that  the  swimmer 
does  in  the  water.  When 
it  does  this  its  wings  are 
very  still,  and  are  folded 
close  to  its  side,  as  you 
see  here  in  the  kite ; but 
when  it  goes  up  again  it 
works  its  wings  up  and 
down,  just  as  the  swim- 
mer works  his  feet  and 
hands  when  he  is  rising 
in  the  water. 

Fishes  swim  chief!)/ 
The  tail  is  to  a fish  in  the  water  what  wings  are 
to  a bird  in  the  air.  It  acts  like  a sculling  oar  in  a boat,  as  I told 
you  in  Part  Second,  Chapter  XXIII.  The  fins  are  the  balancers, 
while  the  tail  works  the  fish  forward  by  its  quick  movements  to 
one  side  and  the  other.  You  can  see  this  very  plainly  if  you 
watch  gold-fishes  as  you  see  them  in  a glass  vessel. 

Observe  why  it  is  that  you  can  not  fly  with  your  hands  in  the 
air  in  the  same  way  that  you  can  swim  with  them  in  the  water. 


with  their  tails. 


20 


FLYING  AND  SWIMMING. 


Why  we  can  not  fly  in  the  air  with  our  hands. 

The  water  gives  way  under  your  hands  just  as  the  air  does,  but 
the  air  gives  way  much  more  easily  than  the  water,  because  it  is 
so  much  lighter.  As  the  air  gets  out  of  the  way  so  easily,  you 
can  not  fly  in  it  unless  you  have  something  very  broad,  so  as  to 
press  down  on  a great  deal  of  it  at  the  same  time.  To  fly,  you 
must  have  large  wings  instead  of  small  hands. 

You  can  see  what  a difference  there  is  between  hands  and  wings 
by  trying  a little  experiment.  Move  about  your  hand  in  the  air. 
You  do  it  with  perfect  ease,  and  the  air  does  not  seem  to  resist 
the  hand  at  all.  Now  take  a large  palm-leaf  fan  and  move  that 
about.  You  can  not  do  this  so  easily  as  you  moved  your  hand, 
unless  you  move  it  edgewise.  Why  is  this  ? Because  it  presses 
upon  so  much  more  air  than  your  hand  does,  and  the  resistance 
of  so  much  air  to  the  fan  you  can  feel  as  you  push  it  out  of  the 
way.  The  fan  takes  hold,  as  we  may  say,  of  more  air  than  your 
hand  does,  and  so  does  also  the  wing  of  a bird. 

Did  you  ever  think  how  large  wings  you  would  need  to  fly 
with  ? You  would  have  to  press  upon  a great  deal  of  air  to  carry 
your  body  up  as  the  birds  do  theirs.  See  how  large  the  wings 
of  a bird  are,  as  they  are  stretched  out.  They  are  both  very  long 
and  very  broad  ; and,  besides,  the  bird  is  not  so  large  as  he  seems 
to  be.  You  will  see  this  if  all  the  feathers  are  stripped  from  its 
body.  If  this  be  done  while  the  wings  are  left  whole,  it  will 
seem  to  you  that  it  takes  very  large  wings  to  raise  a very  little 
body.  You  can  see,  then,  that  it  would  require  very  large  wings 
indeed  to  carry  your  body  up  in  the  air;  and  still  larger  ones  to 
carry  up  a man. 


FLYING  AND  SWIMMING. 


21 


Wings  of  the  swift.  Wings  of  the  bat. 

Here  is  a bird  that 
flies  so  fast  that  it  is 
called  the  swift.  Its 
wings,  you  see,  are  very 
long.  You  do  not  see 
how  broad  they  are,  be- 
cause they  are  not  fully 
spread  out  in  the  figure. 

But  there  is  no  ani- 
mal that  has  a greater 
extent  of  wing  than  the 
bat,  unless  it  be  some 
of  the  insects.  This  is 
the  reason  why  it  flies 

so  swiftly.  You  can 
see  in  this  figure  of  the 
long -eared  bat  what  a 
large  amount  of  air  its 
wings  press  upon  as  it 
works  them.  The  wings 
of  insects  that  fly  very 
swiftly  are  very  large  in 
proportion  to  their  bod- 
ies. This  you  can  see 
in  the  butterfly  that  flies 
so  nimbly  from  flower  to  flower.  Those  that  fly  rather  slowly,  as 
the  bumble-bee,  have  not  very  large  wings. 


22 


FLYING  AND  SWIMMING. 


The  flying  fish. 


The  flying  squirrel. 


X believe  that  there 
is  only  one  kind  of  fish 
that  can  fly  in  the  air, 
It  is  represented  here. 
You  can  see  that  the 
fins  with  which  it  flies 
are  not  nearly  so  large 
as  the  wings  of  a bird  of 
the  same  size  would  be. 
It  therefore  can  not  fly 
very  high  or  far.  The 
~~  highest  that  it  was  ever 

known  to  fly  is  twenty  feet,  and  usually  it  skims  along  only  two 
or  three  feet  above  the  water.  It  does  not  go  up  into  the  air  in 
the  same  way  that  a bird  does.  It  gets  its  upward  start  from  the 
water,  and  all  that  it  does  with  its  wing-like  fins  is  to  keep  itself 

up,  which  it  sometimes  does  for 
perhaps  five  or  six  hundred 
feet.  It  takes  this  flight  in  the 
air  in  fleeing  from  some  large 
fish,  and  in  this  way  often  es- 
capes being  devoured. 

That  beautiful  animal,  the 
flying  squirrel,  which  you  see 
here,  has  a fold  of  skin  extend- 
ing from  the  fore  leg  to  the  hind 
leg  on  each  side.  These  folds 


FLYING  AND  SWIMMING. 


23 


Shape  of  the  wings  of  birds. 


How  they  are  used  in  flying. 


answer  somewhat  as  wings  when  they  are  stretched  out.  Very 
graceful  is  the  movement  when  the  animal  takes  a long,  flying 
sweep  from  one  tree  to  another.  But  he  can  not  go  up  in  the  air 
as  a bird  does,  for  the  folds  are  not  nearly  so  large  as  real  wings, 
and  so  do  not  press  upon  enough  air  to  carry  him  up.  He  can 
only  take  the  sweep  that  I have  mentioned. 

Observe  the  shape  of  the  wings  of  birds.  They  are  rather 
rounded  on  the  upper  surface,  and  hollowed  out  underneath.  They 
are  shaped  in  this  way  to  make  the  flying  easy.  This  I will  ex- 
plain to  you.  When  raising  the  wing,  the  air  goes  easily  off  from 
the  rounded  surface  ; but  when  it  is  moved  downward,  the  air 
can  not  get  away  easily  from  the  hollowed  surface.  The  wing 
gets  hold,  as  we  may  say,  of  some  of  the  air,  and,  pressing  upon 
it,  raises  up  the  bird. 

You  can  see  how  this  is  by  moving  an  open  umbrella  in  the  air. 
You  can  move  it  very  easily  if  you  push  the  outer  rounded  sur- 
face straight  forward  against  the  air.  This  is  because  the  air  moves 
off  from  the  round  surface  of  the  umbrella  as  easily  as  it  does  from 
the  upper  surface  of  the  bird’s  wing.  But  if  you  move  the  um- 
brella with  the  inner  hollowed  surface  against  the  air,  you  find 
it  rather  hard  work.  Why  ? It  is  because  the  air  is  caught  in 
the  hollow  of  the  umbrella  as  it  is  in  the  hollow  of  the  bird’s  wing. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  bird,  in  raising  its  wing,  does  not  move 
it  straight  upward.  It  moves  it  in  such  a way  that  it  rather  cuts 
the  air  with  its  forward  edge.  It  does  this  to  get  it  up  with  little 
resistance  from  the  air.  But  when  it  moves  it  downward,  it  wants 
to  get  as  much  resistance  from  the  air  as  it  can,  so  it  moves  it 


24 


FLYING  AND  SWIMMING. 


How  the  hands  are  used  in  swimming. 


straight  down,  and  not  edgewise.  You  can  see  liow  this  works  by 
moving  a palm-leaf  fan  about  in  the  air.  Move  it  edgewise,  and 
it  goes  very  easily.  This  is  like  the  upward  motion  of  the  bird’s 
wing.  But  move  it  broadside  against  the  air,  and  you  feel  con- 
siderable resistance.  That  is,  the  air  resists  the  pressure  of  the 
fan,  just  as  it  resists  the  pressure  of  the  wing  in  the  downward 
stroke. 

The  swimmer  manages  his  hands  in  the  water  in  the  same  way 
that  the  bird  does  its  wings  in  the  air.  When  he  raises  his  hands 
forward,  he  does  it  edgewise  ; but  when  he  presses  them  down,  he 
moves  them  flat  against  the  water,  so  as  to  press  upon  as  much 
water  as  he  can. 

Questions. — How  is  it  that  birds  fly  ? Why  do  they  have  large  wings  ? Why  can 
you  not  fly?  How  is  swimming  like  flying?  What  do  fishes  swim  with?  Why 
can  not  you  fly  in  the  air  as  well  as  swim  in  the  water  ? Tell  about  the  experiment 
with  the  fan.  What  is  said  about  the  size  of  birds’  wings  ? Tell  about  the  bird 
called  the  swift.  Tell  about  the  bat.  What  is  said  about  the  flying  fish  ? What 
about  the  flying  squirrel  ? What  is  said  of  the  shape  of  wings  of  birds  ? Give  the 
comparison  of  the  umbrella.  Tell  how  the  bird  moves  its  wings  upward  and  dowiv- 
vrard.  Give  the  comparison  of  the  fan.  Give  the  comparison  about  swimming. 


THE  PRESSURE  OF  THE  AIR. 


25 


Air  presses  in  wherever  room  is  made  for  it. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

THE  PRESSURE  OF  THE  AIR. 


The  air  is  every  where.  It  is  always  ready  to  go  where  there 
is  room  made  for  it.  If  we  move  a bureau  or  any  thing  out  of  a 
room,  the  air  fills  up  all  the  place  where  it  stood.  If  you  make  a 
hole  in  any  thing,  the  air  at  once  presses  in  to  fill  it  up.  Every 
crack  and  crevice  is  filled  with  air. 

You  know  how  much  water  a sponge  will  hold.  There  are  a 
great  many  little  cells  or  spaces  in  it  that  hold  the  water.  Now 
squeeze  the  water  out,  and  as  the  water  goes  out  of  these  cells,  the 
air  presses  into  them  and 
fills  them  up.  So,  too, 
if  you  have  any  liquid  in 
a barrel,  just  so  fast  as 
you  draw  it  off,  the  air 
goes  in  to  take  its  place. 

When  you  pull  the 
handles  of  a pair  of  bel- 
lows apart,  as  represent- 
ed here,  you  make  more 
space  in  the  bellows,  and 
the  air  rushes  in  to  fill  up 
this  space.  It  is  the  same 
with  breathing.  When 


26 


THE  PRESSURE  OP  THE  AIR. 


Air  easily  moved  out  of  the  way. 


Why  it  is  easier  to  walk  in  air  than  in  water. 


you  breathe  in,  or  draw  a breath,  as  we  say,  the  air  goes  down 
into  your  lungs  through  the  windpipe.  This  is  because  the  chest 
is  made  larger  as  it  heaves,  and  so  there  is  more  room  in  the  lungs; 
and  the  air  goes  in  to  fill  up  this  room,  just  as  it  does  in  the  bel- 
lows. 

When  the  air  moves  very  fast,  it  is,  you  know,  often  very  in- 
convenient, and  sometimes  does  much  harm,  as  when  houses  are 
blown  down,  or  when  ships  are  driven  upon  a rocky  shore.  But 
commonly  it  is  very  accommodating.  It  is  so  easily  moved  out 
of  the  way  that  we  do  not  think  of  its  being  in  the  way  at  all. 
When  you  are  walking,  your  body  pushes  the  air  one  way  and  the 
other,  just  as  a man  pushes  persons  to  the  one  side  and  the  other 
when  he  goes  through  a crowd  ; and  as  the  people  close  up  behind 
him  as  he  moves  along,  so  the  air  closes  up  behind  you  as  you 
walk  through  it.  Now,  if  the  crowd  were  facing  him,  and  should 
push  against  him,  he  would  find  it  slow  and  hard  work  to  get 
through.  So,  when  the  wind  blows  strongly  in  your  face,  it  is 
hard  walking,  and  you  get  along  slowly,  because  the  air  presses 
against  you  so  hard. 

The  air  is  pushed  out  of  the  way  easily  because  it  is  so  light. 
This  is  the  reason  that  it  is  easier  to  walk  in  air  than  in  water. 
The  water,  as  you  wade  in  it,  is  pushed  to  the  one  side  and  the 
other,  as  the  air  is  when  you  walk  in  it ; Tut  it  is  not  done  so 
quickly  and  easily  ; and,  as  it  is  easier  to  walk  with  the  wind  than 
against  it,  so  it  is  easier,  in  a running  stream,  to  wade  down  stream 
than  up  against  the  current. 

J The  air  is  so  light  a thing  that  you  hardly  think  of  it  as  press- 


THE  PRESSURE  OF  THE  AIR. 


27 


Experiments  showing  the  pressure  of  the  air. 


ing  on  any  tiling ; but  it  does  press  on  every  thing.  Let  us  see 
what  this  pressure  does. 

See  this  glass  tube.  It  is  open  at  the  end  which 


is  in  the  vessel  of  water,  but  it  is  closed  at  the  oth- 
er end.  It  is  full  of  water.  But  water  is  apt  to  run 


what  makes  it  stay  up  in  this  tube  ? It  is  kept  up 
by  the  air  that  presses  on  the  water  in  the  vessel. 
If  you  could  take  away  the  air  from  all  about  the 
vessel,  the  water  in  the  tube  would  come  down  into 
the  vessel,  because  there  would  be  nothing  there  to 


hold  it  up. 

There  is  another  way  in  which  the  water  in  the  tube  can  be 


the  top  of  the  tube,  and  the  air  will  go  into  it,  and  make  the  water 
run  down  by  pressing  on  it.  Even  if  it  be  only  a pin-hole,  the 
air,  ready  to  go  in  every  where,  will  rush  in,  and  down  the  water 


wi  11  all  go.  Now  you  can  not  very  well  make  a 
in  the  top  of  the  tube,  but  you  can  try  the  ex- 
ment  in  another  way,  so  as  to  show  what  let- 


ed  here.  You  take  a glass  tube  open  at  both 
cnuS.  Covering  one  end  tight  with  the  palm  of 
your  hand,  you  fill  the  tube  with  water.  Then 
carefully  put  the  other  end  under  water,  and  hold 
it  as  you  see  here.  The  water  will  stay  up  in  the 
tube  as  long  as  you  keep  the  palm  of  your  hand 


down  whenever  it  can  get  a chance  to  do  it.  Now 


made  to  run  down  into  the  vessel.  Let  a little  hole  be  made  in 


the  air  in  will  do.  The  experiment  is  repre- 


28 


THE  PRESSURE  OP  THE  AIR. 


Experiment  showing  that  the  air  presses  upward  as  much  as  downward. 

tight  over  the  top  of  it ; but  loosen  your  hand,  and  the  air  will 
go  in  and  push  down  the  water  into  the  vessel. 

You  can  see,  from  what  I have  told  you,  why  a vent-hole  is 
needed  in  a barrel  from  which  we  draw  any  liquid.  If  the  barrel 
be  tapped,  the  liquid  will  not  run  out,  unless  the  air  can  get  in 
above  so  as  to  press  it  out.  Till  the  vent-hole  is  made,  the  liquid 
will  stay  in,  just  as  the  water  stays  up  in  the  tube  in  the  experi- 
ment. When  w^e  make  the  vent-hole,  we  do  the  same  to  the  bar- 
rel as  we  should  do  to  the  tube  if  we  should  make  a little  hole  in 
the  top  of  it,  or  as  you  do  to  the  tube  in  the  second  experiment 
when  you  loosen  your  hand  at  the  top  of  it  to  let  the  air  in. 

This  pressure  of  the  air  that  I have  told  you  about  is  in  every 
direction.  It  is  upward  and  sideways  as  well  as  downward. 

rThis  may  be  shown  by  another  experiment  with  a 
glass  tube,  as  represented  here.  Fill  the  tube  with 
water,  and  then  place  carefully  over  its  open  end  a 
smooth  slip  of  paper.  You  can  then  turn  it  over  so 
that  the  open  end  shall  be  downward,  as  seen  in  the 
figure,  and  the  water  will  not  run  out.  What  is  the 
reason  of  this  ? It  is  because  the  pressure  of  the  air 
on  the  paper  keeps  the  water  in.  We  can  often  suc- 
ceed with  this  experiment  with  a wine-glass,  or  even  a common 
tumbler,  though  we  can  do  it  more  easily  with  something  that  has 
a smaller  opening. 

But  you  will  ask,  perhaps,  this  question : If  it  be  the  pressure 
of  the  air  that  keeps  the  water  from  running  out,  what  need  is 
there  of  the  paper  ? The  paper  merely  serves  to  keep  the  surface 


THE  PRESSURE  OF  THE  AIR. 


29 


How  bubbles  of  air  rush  in  among  the  particles  of  a liquid. 


of  the  water  smooth  and  whole.  If  the  paper  were  not  there,  the 
air  would  get  in  between  the  parts  of  the  water,  and  would  rush 
up  and  force  the  water  out.  For  the  same  reason,  if,  instead  of 
the  small  hole  commonly  made  in  tapping,  a large  hole  be  made 
in  the  barrel,  the  liquid  will  run  out  without  any  vent-hole.  In 
this  case,  the  air  has  a chance  to  work  itself  in  among  the  parts 
or  particles*  of  the  liquid,  and  go  in  bubbles  up  into  the  upper  part 
of  the  barrel.  A mere  slip  of  paper  put  on  the  hole  would  keep 
the  liquid  in,  as  in  the  case  of  the  tube  or  the  wine-glass,  and  for 
the  same  reason.  You  know  that  there  is  a gurgling  sound  made 
when  a liquid  is  poured  from  a jug  or  a bottle.  This  is  caused 
by  the  bubbles  of  air  that  pass  in  while  the  liquid  is  coming 
out. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  air’s  being  every  where?  Tell  about  the 
sponge  and  the  barrel.  How  is  breathing  like  using  a pair  of  bellows  ? What  is 
said  about  the  ease  with  which  air  is  moved  out  of  the  way  ? Give  the  comparison 
about  going  through  a crowd.  Why  is  the  air  pushed  out  of  the  way  so  easily  ? 
What  is  said  about  wading  in  water?  Tell  about  the  experiment  with  the  glass 
tube  open  at  one  end.  Why  is  a vent-hole  needed  in  a barrel  when  we  want  to 
draw  off  what  is  in  it  ? Give  the  comparison  to  the  experiments  with  the  tube. 
How  can  you  show  that  the  air  passes  upward  and  sideways  as  well  as  downward? 
What  does  the  paper  do  in  this  experiment  ? Why  is  there  no  need  of  a vent-hole 
when  a large  opening  is  made  in  a barrel  ? What  makes  the  gurgling  when  a 
liquid  is  poured  from  a jug  or  a bottle  ? 


* I explain  about  the  particles  of  water  farther  on,  in  the  16th  and  17th  chapters. 


30 


PUMPS. 


Explanation  of  the  operation  of  sucking. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

PUMPS. 

You  know  that  you  can  suck  up  water  or  any  fluid  through  a 
straw  or  any  other  tube.  Now  what  is  it  that  makes  the  water 
go  up  through  the  tube  into  your  mouth  ? I will  tell  you.  When 
you  put  the  tube  into  your  mouth  it  is  full  of  air,  and  so  long  as 
the  air  is  there  the  water  will  be  kept  out ; but  when  you  suck  you 
remove  the  air  from  the  tube ; and  as  the  air  goes  out,  the  water 
comes  in,  following  right  on  after  the  air.  But  what  makes  the 
water  come  in  ? Does  it  come  in  of  itself  because  there  is  room 
made  for  it?  No.  Water  can  not  move  itself.  It  must  be 
moved  by  something  else.  It  is  the  air  pressing  on  the  water  in 
the  vessel  you  are  sucking  from  that  pushes  it  up  into  the  tube. 
You  do  not  really  draw  up  the  water.  You  get  the  air  out  of  the 
way  in  the  tube,  and  then  the  air  that  is  all  the  time  pressing  on 
the  water  in  the  vessel  pushes  it  up  into  your  mouth.  As  soon 
as  you  stop  sucking,  and  take  your  mouth  from  the  tube,  the  wa- 
ter that  is  in  the  tube  will  run  down  into  the  vessel,  because  it  is 
pressed  down  by  the  air  that  goes  in  at  the  top  of  the  tube. 

You  know  that  you  have  to  suck  commonly  several  times  be- 
fore  the  water  will  reach  your  mouth.  If  the  tube  is  a very  large 
one,  you  suck  a great  many  times  to  get  all  the  air  out  of  it.  At 
first  you  suck  out  a little  of  the  air  in  the  tube,  and  the  water  is 
pushed  up  to  take  its  place ; then  you  suck  a little  more  out,  and 


PUMPS. 


31 


IIow  pumping  is  like  sucking. 

more  water  is  pushed  up, 
and  so  on  till  it  reaches 
the  top  of  the  tube.  Here 
is  a boy  that  has  partly 
filled  his  tube,  and  one 
more  suck  would  bring  the 
fluid  to  his  mouth. 

You  can  now  see  how 
we  pump  up  water  out  of 
a well  or  cistern.  The  wa- 
ter is  not  drawn  up,  but  it 
is  pushed  up  just  as  it  is 
in  the  tube  when  you  suck. 
When  you  work  the  han- 
dle, you  do  the  same  thing 
for  the  pump  that  your  mouth  does  for  the  tube  in  sucking  any 
liquid ; and  when  the  pump  has  not  been  worked  for  some  time, 
you  have  to  move  the  handle  up  and  down  several  times  before  the 
water  comes,  just  as  you  have  to  suck  several  times  to  fill  a tube 
of  any  length  with  water. 

I will  show  by  some  figures  how  a pump  operates.  In  the  first 
figure  the  hand  is  raising  the  handle,  as  you  know  we  always  do 
when  we  begin  to  pump.  The  raising  of  the  handle,  you  see, 
makes  the  piston,  as  it  is  called,  go  down  in  the  pump.  Here  it 
is  going  down  through  air,  for  the  water  has  not  as  yet  got  up  as 
far  as  the  piston.  Now,  if  this  piston  were  a whole  solid  piece  of 
wood,  it  would  do  no  good,  for  it  would  press  the  air  down  before 


32 


PUMPS. 


The  operation  of  a pump  explained. 


water;  and  when  the  piston  press- 
es down,  the  only  way  for  it  to 
get  out  of  the  way  is  to  press 
upon  that  little  door,  and  go  up 
above  the  piston. 

Well,  the  handle  is  up.  The 
next  thing  is  to  bring  it  down,  as 
represented  in  this  picture.  As 
the  handle  goes  down,  the  piston 


it.  But  it  is  not  solid.  It 
has  a hole  through  it,  and  a 
sort  of  clapper  or  valve  on 
the  hole.  Therefore,  as  the 
piston  goes  down,  the  air 
pushes  up  the  valve,  and  goes 
up  through  the  hole.  You 
see  that  this  air  is  shut  in 
between  the  piston  and  the 


PUMPS. 


33 


Explanation  of  the  pump  continued. 


goes  up,  as  you  see.  You  remember  that  I told  you  that,  as  the 
piston  was  going  down,  as  seen  in  the  first  figure,  some  of  the  air 
went  up  through  the  hole  and  got  above  the  piston.  Now  this 
air  can  not  get  down  again,  for  the  moment  that  the  piston  begins 
to  move  up,  the  air,  pressing  on  the  valve,  shuts  it  down.  Now, 
as  the  piston  goes  up,  there  is  room  made  below  it.  How  is  this 
room  filled  ? The  air  that  is  there,  as  you  see,  rises  up  to  fill  it, 
and  the  water  follows  the  air. 


The  next  moving  of  the  pis- 
ton down  will  carry  it  below 
all  the  air  and  down  into  the 
water ; and  the  water  will  go 
up  through  the  little  door,  just 
as  the  air  has  done  before  it. 
Then  the  moving  of  the  piston 
up  will  carry  this  water  so 
high  as  to  make  it  run  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  pump,  as 
seen  in  this  figure. 

But  there  is  a valve  in  the 
pump  that  I have  said  noth- 
ing about  as  yet.  This  lower 
talve  operates  in  this  way: 
As  the  air  or  the  water  goes 
up  in  the  pump,  the  valve  is 
pushed  open  by  it,  as  you  see 
in  the  second  figure  and  in  the 


C 


34 


PUMPS. 


How  the  tongue  in  sucking  acts  like  the  piston  of  a pump. 


last  one ; but  when  the  piston  works  down,  as  seen  in  the  first 
figure,  this  valve  is  shut,  so  that  all  the  water  that  gets  above  it 
is  safe,  and  can  not  go  back. 

What  is  it  that  makes  the  air  and  the  water  rise  in  the  pump  ? 
All  that  gets  above  the  piston  is  lifted  up  by  the  piston,  as  you 
see.  But  what  makes  that  rise  which  is  below  the  piston  ? It  is 
the  pressure  of  the  air  on  the  water  in  the  well  or  cistern.  This 
pushes  up  the  water  as  fast  as  there  is  room  made  for  it. 

If  a cistern  were  full  of  vrater,  and  were  air-tight  also,  you  could 
not  pump  up  the  water  from  it.  You  must  have  air  there  to  push 
up  the  water,  or  it  will  not  come  up  when  you  make  room  for  it 
by  working  the  pump. 

You  see,  then,  that  sucking  and  pumping  are  very  much  alike. 
In  the  pump  the  piston  makes  the  room  for  the  air  and  the  water 
to  be  pushed  up  into.  Now,  when  you  suck,  there  is  a piston  that 
operates  very  much  as  the  piston  of  a pump  does.  Your  tongue 
is  the  piston.  See  how  this  is.  When  you  suck  through  a tube 
held  in  water,  you  move  your  tongue  in  such  a way  as  to  make  a 
space  in  the  mouth,  and  the  air  in  the  tube  is  pushed  in  to  fill  up 
this  space  ; and  when  the  air  is  all  pushed  in,  the  water  is  pushed 
in  after  it.  Both  are  pushed  in,  as  I have  before  told  you,  by  the 
air  pressing  on  the  water  in  the  vessel.  It  is  just  as  water  is 
pushed  up  into  a squirt-gun  when  you  draw  the  piston.  This  pis- 
ton does  in  the  gun,  when  you  draw  it,  the  same  thing  that  your 
tongue  does  in  your  mouth  when  you  move  it  in  sucking.  It 
• makes  space,  and  the  water  is  pushed  into  the  gun,  as  it  is  into  the 
mouth,  to  fill  up  this  space.  The  way  in  which  the  space  is  made 


PUMPS. 


35 


The  common  language  about  sucking  and  pumping  incorrect. 


in  the  mouth  in  sucking  is  this.  Before  you  begin  to  suck,  the 
tongue  fills  the  mouth,  so  as  to  be  up  against  its  roof ; but  when 
you  suck,  you  move  the  tongue  down  from  the  roof  of  the  mouth, 
and  this  makes  a space  there  ; and  whatever  is  in  the  tube,  wheth- 
er it  be  air  or  water,  is  pushed  in  to  fill  this  space. 

The  common  language,  then,  which  is  used  about  sucking  and 
pumping  is  not  exactly  correct.  When  we  suck  or  pump,  it  seems 
to  us  as  if  the  liquid  was  drawn  up,  and  so  we  use  the  word  draw 
in  regard  to  it.  So,  too,  we  talk  about  the  suction  or  drawing 
power.  But,  as  I have  showed  you,  the  liquid  is  pushed  up  in- 
stead of  being  drawn.  All  that  the  piston  in  a pump  does  is  to 
make  room.  It  does  not  draw  the  water  into  that  room,  but  the 
pressure  of  the  air  forces  it  in.  Whenever  there  is  any  room 
made,  the  air  is  always  ready  either  to  go  in  itself  or  to  force  some- 
thing else  in. 

Questions. — Explain  the  operation  of  sucking  up  water  through  a tube.  Why 
does  the  water  in  the  tube  run  down  into  the  vessel  when  you  stop  sucking  and  take 
your  mouth  away  ? Why  is  it  that  you  commonly  have  to  suck  several  times  before 
the  water  reaches  your  mouth  ? How  is  pumping  like  sucking  ? What  is  shown  by 
the  first  figure  ? What  by  the  second  ? What  by  the  third  ? Explain  the  opera- 
tion of  the  lower  valve  of  the  pump.  What  makes  the  air  and  the  water  rise  in  the 
pump  ? Why  would  they  not  rise  if  the  cistern  were  full  and  were  air-tight  ? Ex- 
plain how  the  tongue  acts  as  a piston  in  sucking.  Give  the  comparison  about  the 
squirt-gun.  What  is  said  about  the  language  used  about  sucking  and  pumping  ? 


36 


THE  BAROMETER. 


Pressure  of  the  air  holds  up  water  in  the  pump  and  mercury  in  the  barometer. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  BAROMETER. 

Water  can  be  raised  in  a pump  only  to  a certain  height,  and  the 
mistake  has  sometimes  been  made  of  getting  the  pump  so  long 
that  it  would  not  work.  If  it  be  more  than  about  thirty-four  feet 
from  the  water  up  to  the  piston,  the  water  can  not  be  made  to  go 
up  so  high.  What  is  the  reason  ? It  is  because  the  air,  pressing 
on  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  cistern  or  well,  will  raise  it  only 
to  the  height  of  thirty-four  feet.  It  does  not  press  hard  enough 
to  force  it  up  any  higher. 

Suppose  you  had  a glass  tube  over  thirty-four  feet  long,  with 
one  end  open,  and  used  it  as  represented  in  the  first  experiment  in 
Chapter  IV.,  on  page  27.  The  water  would  be  kept  up  in  it  only 
the  thirty-four  feet.  The  weight  of  a column  of  water  of  that 
height  just  balances  the  pressure  or  weight  of  the  air.  Above  that 
height  in  the  tube  there  would  be  a space  in  which  there  would 
not  be  any  thing. 

Quicksilver  or  mercury,  as  perhaps  you  know,  is  a fluid  like  wa- 
ter, but  very  much  heavier.  The  pressure  of  the  air,  therefore,  will 
hold  up  a column  of  this  not  nearly  as  high  as  the  column  of  wa- 
ter it  holds  up.  The  column  of  mercury  held  up  in  a glass  tube 
is  not  quite  three  feet  long,  while  that  of  water  is  thirty-four  feet. 

You  can  now  understand  how  the  instrument  called  a barom- 
eter is  made.  The  object  of  this  is  to  tell  how  heavy  the  air  is, 


THE  BAROMETER. 


37 


Barometer  on  a mountain. 


Air  heavier  at  some  times  than  at  others. 


for  the  air  is  heavier  at  some  times  than  it  is  at  others.  A fv 

glass  tube,  open  at  one  end,  and  about  three  feet  in  length,  Sr 

is  taken,  and  is  filled  with  the  mercury.  Then  the  open  Ij: 

end  is  put  into  a dish  of  mercury,  as  seen  in  the  figure.  || 

There  will  be  a space  in  the  tube  above  the  mercury,  as  | 
represented,  for  the  air  will  support  by  its  pressure  a col-  1 
umn  of  only  about  thirty  inches  of  mercury — six  inches  [I 
less  than  three  feet,  the  length  of  the  tube.  A scale,  di- 
vided  into  inches,  is  added,  as  seen  in  the  figure ; and  the  whole, 
neatly  inclosed  in  a case,  makes  what  we  call  a barometer.  This 
means  a measurer  of  the  pressure  or  weight  of  the  air. 

If  the  barometer  be  carried  up  a mountain,  the  mercury  falls. 
Why  is  this  ? It  is  because  there  is  less  height  of  air  pressing 
on  the  mercury  than  there  is  in  the  valley  below,  and  of  course  it 
will  not  hold  up  so  long  a column  of  mercury.  In  the  valley,  as 
I have  told  you  in  Chapter  I.,  the  air  is  forty-five  miles  high  ; and 
if  we  carry  the  barometer  up  a mountain  three  or  four  miles  high, 
it  will  make  a difference  of  several  inches  in  the  height  of  the  mer^ 
cury  in  the  tube. 

I have  said  that  the  air  is  heavier  at  some  times  than  at  others. 
In  a bright,  clear  day,  the  air  is  heavy,  and  then  the  mercury  rises 
high,  or,  rather,  is  pushed  up  high  in  the  tube.  But  when  it  is 
cloudy  and  rainy,  the  mercury  falls,  for  the  air  is  then  lighter  than 
usual,  though  people  often  say  at  such  a time  how  heavy  the  air  is. 
The  truth  is  that  we  feel  better  when  the  air  is  clear  and  heavy, 
and  so  the  air  seems  light  to  us.  On  the  contrary,  we  do  not 
feel  so  well  when  it  is  cloudy  and  the  air  is  light. 


38 


THE  BAROMETER. 


How  the  barometer  is  of  use  to  the  sailor. 


The  barometer  is  of  use  to  the  sailor  in  telling  him  of  threaten- 
ed storms ; for  when  a storm  is  coming  the  air  is  light,  and  the 
mercury  in  the  barometer  falls  of  course.  The  sailor,  therefore, 
looks  now  and  then  at  his  barometer,  and  if  he  at  any  time  sees 
the  mercury  fall  suddenly,  he  gets  ready  for  a storm,  for  he  knows 
that  it  may  come  on  very  rapidly.  Dr.  Arnot  says  that  he  was 
once  on  board  of  a vessel  where  the  captain  was  enabled  to  save 
his  ship  and  all  on  board  because  he  took  warning  in  season  from 
his  barometer.  The  sun  had  just  set,  and,  as  the  evening  was  very 
pleasant,  all  on  board  were  enjoying  themselves  in  various  ways. 
But  the  captain’s  orders  were  given  to  take  down  sails  and  pre- 
pare for  a storm.  All  were  astonished,  for  nobody  could  see  any 
signs  of  a storm.  But  the  captain  had  seen  the  mercury  sink  down 
very  suddenly  in  his  barometer,  and  he  knew  that  trouble  was 
coming,  and  probably  very  soon.  He  hurried  the  men,  therefore, 
but  the  storm  came  before  he  was  quite  ready.  It  was  a violent 
hurricane.  But  the  ship,  though  much  damaged,  was  saved,  and 
in  the  morning  the  wind  was  still,  and  all  were  rejoicing  in  their 
deliverance.  Probably,  if  the  captain  had  not  looked  at  his  ba- 
rometer, the  ship,  with  all  on  board,  would  have  been  lost. 

Questions. — How  high  can  water  he  raised  in  a pump  ? Why  can  it  not  he  raised 
higher  ? Tell  about  the  experiment  with  a long  glass  tube.  How  high  a column 
of  mercury  will  the  pressure  of  the  air  hold  up  ? Explain  the  barometer.  Explain 
<he  falling  of  the  mercury  when  the  barometer  is  carried  up  a mountain.  How 
does  the  barometer  show  that  the  air  is  heavier  at  some  times  than  it  is  at  others  ? 
Why  does  the  air  seem  light  to  us  when  it  is  heavy,  and  heavy  when  it  is  light  ? 
How  is  the  barometer  of  use  to  the  sailor  ? Tell  about  the  storm  as  related  by  Dr. 
Arnot. 


THE  AIR-PUMP. 


39 


Description  of  the  air-pump. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  AIR-PUMP. 

A great  many  interesting  experiments  about  the  pressure  ot 

the  air  can  be  tried  with  the 
air-pump,  which  you  see  rep- 
resented here.  This  I will  de- 
scribe, so  that  you.  may  under- 
stand how  it  works.  At  a,  a, 
are  two  pump-barrels.  In  them 
are  two  pistons  with  valves, 
such  as  there  are  in  common 
pumps,  except  that  they  are 
made  a great  deal  more  nicely. 
These  pistons  are  worked  by 
the  handle,  b . The  frame-work,  e e , that  holds  the  pump-barrels, 
is  made  very  strong  and  firm,  so  that  the  pumps  may  work  true. 
There  is  a large  plate,  f,  of  metal,  made  very  even  and  smooth. 
At  c is  a large  glass  vessel,  close  at  the  top,  but  open  at  the  bot- 
tom. Its  edge  is  made  very  smooth,  so  that  it  may  fit  well  on  the 
smooth  plate.  In  the  middle  of  the  plate  is  a hole.  This  opens 
into  a passage  which  leads  to  the  bottom  of  the  two  pump-barrels. 
Now  you  can  see  how  the  instrument  works.  The  two  pump- 
barrels  work  in  the  same  way  that  a common  water-pump  does. 
With  them  the  air  is  pumped  out  of  the  glass  vessel  by  the  passage 


40 


THE  AIR-PUMP. 


Experiments.  India-rubber  ball.  Bubbles.  Shriveled  apples. 


which  leads  to  them  from  the  centre  of  the  plate.  By  this  means 
most  of  the  air  may  be  pumped  out.  If  we  want  to  let  the  air 
in  after  pumping  it  out,  we  loosen  the  screw  g,  for  from  the  open- 
ing  here  there  is  a passage  that  leads  to  the  hole  in  the  centre  of 
the  plate. 

I will  mention  only  a few  of  the  experiments  that  may  be  tried 
with  the  air-pump.  If  you  put  an  India-rubber  bag,  or  a foot- 
ball, with  but  a little  air  in  it,  under  the  glass  jar,  when  you  begin 
to  pump  this  will  begin  to  swell,  as  represented  here ; and 
if  you  pump  for  some  time,  it  will  swell  very  much.  The 
reason  is  this.  As  you  take  away  the  air  from  around 
the  ball,  the  air  in  the  ball  expands.  If  you  then  turn 
the  screw  that  lets  the  air  into  the  jar,  the  ball  will  become 
small  again,  because  it  is  pressed  upon  by  the  air  that  is  let  in. 

So,  too,  if  some  soap-bubbles  be  put  under  the  jar,  when  you 
pump  out  the  air  they  will  swell ; that  is,  the  air  shut  up  in  the 
bubbles  will  expand,  because  the  pressure  of  the  air  around  them 
is  lessened. 

It  is  amusing  to  see  a shriveled  apple  under  the  jar  of  the  air- 
pump.  After  pumping  a little  it  will  swell  out,  and  appear  like  a 
plump,  fresh  apple;  but  let  in  the  air  again,  and  the  apple  be- 
comes shriveled  as  before.  This  is  owing  to  the  air  that  is  in  the 
apple,  for  there  is  air  in  every  thing.  There  is  air  in  our  bod- 
ies ; and  if  the  air  all  about  us  could  be  lessened  very  much, 
just  as  it  is  in  the  jar  of  the  air-pump,  we  should  swell  up  like  a 
puff-ball.  It  is  the  pressure  of  the  air  all  around  us  that  keeps 
us  just  of  the  size  w'e  are. 


THE  AIR-PUMP. 


41 


The  degree  of  pressure  of  the  air.  How  this  is  borne. 

The  air  does  more  in  pressing  than  you  think  for.  As  you  move 
about  in  it,  it  does  not  seem  to  press  upon  you  at  all  ; but  it 
really  presses  upon  you  very  hard.  It  presses  on  you  with  the 
weight  of  about  fifteen  pounds  upon  every 
square  inch — that  is,  a space  of  this  size.  It 
would  take  many  such  spaces  to  cover  over 
your  hand.  The  air  really  presses  upon  your 
hand,  as  you  hold  it  out  flat,  with  more  than 

the  weight  of  a hundred  pounds.  You  can 

hardly  believe  this,  and  you  will  want  to  know  how  it  is  that  you 
do  not  feel  this  weight  or  pressure  of  the  air.  I will  tell  you. 

Hold  out  your  hand  flat  in  the  air.  You  know  that  there  is  air 
underneath  your  hand  as  well  as  over  it.  And  this  air  underneath 
presses  up  just  as  much  as  that  above  presses  down.  Now  this 
is  the  reason  that  you  do  not  feel  the  pressure.  If  the  air  under- 
neath your  hand  could  be  taken  away,  you  would  feel  the  pressure 
of  that  which  is  above.  You  would  not  only  feel  it,  but  you 
could  not  bear  it.  This  we  can  prove  by  the  air-pump.  Take 
the  jar  off  from  the  plate,  and  then  put  upon  it 
a small  glass  vessel,  open  at  both  ends,  such  as 
you  see  here.  Place  your  hand  over  it  tightly 
as  represented,  and  then  let  some  one  work  the 
pump.  Your  hand  will  be  pressed  down  into  the 
cup  so  hard  after  a little^pumping  that  you  will  be  glad  enough  to 
have  the  pump  stopped  and  the  air  let  in. 

Observe  what  is  done  to  your  hand  by  the  pumping.  Some  of 
the  air  is  taken  away  from  beneath  your  hand — that  is  all ; and, 


42 


THE  AIR-PUMP. 


How  the  boy’s  sucker  operates. 


Suckers  in  the  feet  of  flies. 


this  being  done,  you  feel  now  the  pressure  of  the  air  above  it,  be- 
cause there  is  no  pressure  below  to  balance  it. 


You  can  show  the  same  in  another  way  with  this 
glass  cup.  Tie  a piece  of  bladder  or  India-rubber  over 
one  end  of  it,  and  then  place  this  over  the  hole  in  the 
plate  of  the  air-pump.  As  you  pump  out  the  air,  the 
India-rubber  will  be  pressed  down  into  the  cup  by  the 


air  above,  as  represented  here. 

The  pressure  of  the  air  is  very  well  shown  by  the  sucker,  as  it 
is  called,  with  which  boys  sometimes  amuse  themselves.  This 


sucker  is  a round  piece  of  leather,  with  a string  fastened 
to  the  middle  of  it.  The  leather  is  moistened,  and  then 
pressed  evenly  upon  the  smooth  surface  of  a stone,  and 
now  the  stone  can  be  raised,  as  you  see  here,  by  the 
string,  even  if  it  be  a pretty  large  one.  But  how  is  it 
that  the  leather  sticks  so  fast  to  the  stone?  It  is  by 


the  pressure  of  the  air  upon  it.  When  you  pull  on  the  string,  you 
raise  the  middle  of  the  leather  a little  from  the  stone,  and  this 
makes  a little  space  there  in  which  there  is  no  air.  But  all  the 
leather  around  by  its  edge  is  pressed  very  tight  upon  the  stone  by 
the  air  outside ; and  it  is  because  no  air  can  get  between  the  leather 
and  the  stone  that  the  leather  holds  on  to  it  so  well.  If  the  leather 
is  not  pressed  down  exactly  even,  or  if  there  be  some  unevenness 
in  the  stone  where  the  leather  is  put  upon  it,  the  air  will  get  in 
between  the  leather  and  the  stone,  and  the  sucker  will  not  operate. 

Flies  and  other  insects,  that  walk  along  so  well  on  the  ceiling 
and  on  smooth  glass,  have  suckers  on  their  feet,  that  work  very 


THE  AIR-PUMP. 


43 


The  sucking-fish  and  the  shark. 


much  in  the  same  way  that  the  boy’s  sucker  does  upon  the  stone. 
Some  fishes  have  suckers  by  which  they  can  stick  to  rocks  or 
any  thing  else.  In  this  case,  it  is  water  that  makes  the  pressure 

instead  of  air.  Here  is 
the  drawing  of  a fish 
that  has  a sucker,  or, 
rather,  a set  of  suckers, 
on  the  upper  part  of  its 
head.  With  this  it  can 
adhere  to  any  thing  very  firmly.  A singular  story  is  told  by  a 
traveler  about  one  of  these  sucking-fishes.  He  saw  a shark  at- 
tempt to  seize  it,  but  the  fish  dodged  him,  and  then  fastened  itself 
to  the  shark’s  back  by  its  suckers.  It  so  happened  that  one  of  the 
sailors  had  tied  to  the  fish  a stick  of  wood  by  a short  line.  The 
shark  dashed  off  with  this  fish  thus  fastened  to  him  towing  the 
stick  of  wood  astern.  He  soon  stopped,  and,  getting  hold  of  the 
cord,  jerked  the  fish  off,  and  then  dove  at  it  as  before.  The  fish 
dodged  him  again,  and  got  hold  with  its  suckers  a second  time, 
and  when  last  seen,  the  shark  was  struggling  in  vain  to  get  rid 
of  the  troublesome  fellow. 

Questions. — Describe  the  air-pump,  and  tell  how  it  works.  Tell  about  the  exper- 
iment with  the  India-rubber  ball,  with  the  soap-bubbles,  and  with  the  shriveled  ap- 
ple. How  much  is  the  pressure  of  the  air  on  every  square  inch  of  your  body  ? How 
much  is  it  on  your  whole  hand?  Why  do  you  not  feel  this  pressure?  What  ex- 
periment with  the  air-pump  makes  this  plain  ? Give  the  other  experiment  that 
shows  the  same  thing  in  another  way.  How  is  the  boy’s  sucker  made  ? Explain 
how  it  holds  on  to  the  stone.  How  do  flies  and  other  insects  walk  on  ceilings  and 
on  glass  ? Tell  about  the  sucking-fish. 


44 


GASES. 


How  the  gas  that  we  burn  differs  from  air. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GASES. 

I have  told  you  about  the  air  which  we  breathe,  and  which  is 
all  around  us  ; but  there  are  other  kinds  of  air.  When  we  light 
the  gas,  what  is  it  that  we  set  on  fire?  It  is  an  air,  or  gas,  as  we 
call  it,  that  comes  through  the  pipe  to  the  burner.  It  is  like  the 
air  which  we  breathe  in  some  respects.  It  is  transparent ; that 
is,  you  can  see  through  it  as  you  can  through  common  air.  It 
moves  about  as  easily  as  air  does.  But  it  is  different  from  the  air 
in  some  things.  It  is  lighter.  The  air  has  no  smell ; but  this 
gas  has  a very  bad  smell,  as  you  may  know  when  it  leaks  out  of 
the  pipes.  Air  does  not  burn,  but  this  gas  does ; and  it  is  curi- 
ous that  when  it  burns  the  bad  smell  is  all  gone. 

Sometimes,  when  the  gas  leaks  out  of  a pipe,  it  is  very  danger- 
ous. If  a close  room  should  get  very  full  of  it,  and  you  should  go 
into  it  with  a light,  the  gas  in  the  room  would  all  take  fire  and  ex- 
plode. Persons  have  been  killed  in  this  way.  It  is  well  that  the 
gas  does  smell  badly,  for  this  lets  us  know  when  it  leaks,  so  that 
we  may  guard  against  the  danger.  We  should  let  the  gas  out  by 
opening  doors  and  windows  before  we  bring  a light  in. 

Persons  have  sometimes  been  killed  by  the  gas  in  another  way. 
You  know  that  there  is  in  every  gas-pipe  something  that  you  can 
turn  so  as  to  shut  the  pipe,  and  thus  keep  the  gas  from  coming 
out.  Now  persons  that  do  not  know  how  the  gas  is  managed  have 
blown  it  out  instead  of  shutting  it  off.  When  this  is  done,  the 


GASES. 


45 


Gas  burning  in  a common  fire. 


Gas  from  burning  charcoal. 


gas  continues  to  come  out  from  the*  open  pipe  just  as  it  did  when 
it  was  burning,  and  gradually  fills  the  room ; and  if  the  person  in 
the  room  goes  to  sleep,  he  will  be  injured,  and  perhaps  even  killed 
by  breathing  the  gas. 

Did  you  ever  think  what  flame  is  in  a common  wood  or  coal 
fire?  It  is  burning  gas.  The  heat  makes  the  gas  out  of  the 
wood  or  coal,  and  this  takes  fire  just  as  the  gas  does  that  comes 
out  of  the  burner  when  you  put  a light  to  it.  Sometimes  you  see 
a little  stream  of  gas  blowing  out  of  some  part  of  a stick  of  wood, 
as  gas  blows  out  of  a burner.  It  makes  quite  a noise  as  it  blows. 
If  it  is  not  on  fire,  you  can  set  fire  to  it  just  as  you  light  the  gas 
from  a burner. 

You  see,  then,  that  every  fire-place,  or  grate,  or  stove  is  a gas 
factory ; but  the  gas  is  burned  up  as  fast  as  it  is  made.  The  gas 
which  is  made  at  the  gas-works  is  made  in  such  a way  that  it  is 
not  burned  at  the  time.  It  is  made  generally  by  heating  coal,  and 
is  kept  in  large  reservoirs  called  gasometers.  From  them  pipes 
branch  out  in  the  same  way  that  they  do  from  water-works ; and 
through  these  the  gas  goes  all  about  to  different  buildings,  as  wa- 
ter goes  in  aqueduct  pipes  ; and  as  the  water  comes  out  when  you 
open  the  faucet,  so  does  the  gas  when  you  open  the  burner. 

There  is  one  gas  that  every  one  ought  to  know  about,  because 
many  persons  have  been  killed  by  it  from  want  of  this  knowledge. 
This  gas  is  made  whenever  charcoal  is  burned ; and  many  deaths 
have  occurred  from  it  by  burning  charcoal  in  small  furnaces  in 
close  rooms.  This  is  often  done  to  warm  a room  where  there  is 
no  stove  or  fire-place.  As  the  charcoal  burns  slowly,  the  gas  is 


46 


GASES. 


Gas  sometimes  in  wells. 


The  Grotto  of  the  Dogs. 


made,  and  as  it  is  heavier  than  air,  it  spreads,  at  first,  all  over  the 
floor.  It  gets  higher  and  higher,  and  at  length  reaches  the  mouths 
of  the  persons  in  the  room.  If  they  happen  to  be  asleep,  they  are 
very  apt  to  be  killed  by  breathing  the  gas  ; but  if  they  are  awake, 
they  are  conscious  of  the  unpleasant  feelings  the  gas  produces,  and 
either  go  out  into  the  air,  or  make  some  noise  which  brings  oth- 
ers to  their  relief. 

This  gas  sometimes  collects  in  wells,  and  kills  men  that  go  down 
into  them.  Now  there  is  one  way  by  which  we  can  always  tell 
whether  this  gas  is  in  a well.  If  there  be  none  there,  we  can  low- 
er a lighted  candle  down  to  the  water  and  it  will  not  go  out;  but 
if  there  be  any  of  this  gas  there,  the  candle  will  go  out  as  soon  as 
it  reaches  it. 

There  is  in  Italy  a cave  or  grotto,  which  is  called  the  Grotto  of 
the  Dogs.  The  reason  that  this  name  was  given  to  it  will  appear 
from  what  I will  tell  you  about  it.  This  deadly  gas  is  constant- 
ly made  there  in  some  way  that  we  do  not  understand.  There  is 
enough  of  it  to  reach  above  a dog’s  head,  but  it  never  gets  up  as 
high  as  a man’s  head.  While  a man,  then,  can  breathe  in  the 
grotto  perfectly  well,  a dog  can  not,  for  he  is  down  in  the  gas.  A 
dog  is  kept  there  by  some  one  living  close  by,  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  the  effect  on  him  to  visitors.  When  he  is  carried  into 
the  grotto,  he  soon  falls  down,  and  would  die  if  he  were  left  there  ; 
but  as  they  vTish  to  keep  him  for  exhibition  to  others,  they  bring 
him  out,  and  though  he  looks  as  if  he  were  dead,  dashing  some 
cold  water  on  him  and  letting  him  breathe  the  fresh  air  soon  re- 
vive him. 


GASES. 


47 


Gas  breathed  out  from  the  lungs  of  animals. 


This  gas  is  constantly  breathed  out  from  our  lungs.  It  is  the 
bad  air  that  I told  you  about  in  Chapter  XX.,  Part  First,  that 
leaves  take  from  the  lungs  of  animals,  giving  them  back  good  air 
in  return.  You  see,  then,  how  important  it  is  that  this  gas  shall 
get  from  us  to  the  leaves,  and  that  the  good  gas  from  the  leaves 
shall  come  freely  into  our  lungs.  But  this  can  not  be  done  un- 
less there  is  a free  circulation  of  the  air.  When  people  are  shut 
up  in  a close  room,  a great  deal  of  this  bad  gas  is  made  in  a little 
while,  and  unless  it  is  let  out  of  the  room  it  does  harm.  It  does 
not  often  kill  any  one  at  once,  but  it  injures  the  health ; and  the 
poisonous  effect  repeated  every  day,  though  it  be  but  a little,  after 
a while  may  destroy  life.  A few  persons  are  killed  quickly  by 
this  gas  made  from  burning  charcoal ; but  a great  many  are  killed 
slowly  by  it  as  it  is  given  out  from  their  lungs,  because  they  do 
not  take  enough  pains  to  let  it  escape. 

Questions. — In  what  things  is  the  gas  that  we  burn  like  air  ? In  what  does  it  dif- 
fer from  air  ? What  is  said  about  the  smell  of  gas  ? In  what  two  ways  is  life 
sometimes  destroyed  by  gas?  What  is  flame  in  a common  wood  or  coal  fire? 
Tell  about  the  blowing  we  sometimes  see  in  wood  on  the  fire.  What  is  said  about 
the  making  of  gas  ? What  is  said  about  the  gas  that  comes  from  burning  charcoal  ? 
How  are  people  sometimes  killed  by  it  ? What  is  said  about  its  being  in  wells  ? 
Tell  about  the  Grotto  of  the  Dogs.  What  is  said  about  the  lungs  giving  out  this 
gas  ? How  does  it  often  do  harm  when  given  out  in  this  way  ? Which  kills  the 
most  people,  the  gas  that  comes  from  burning  charcoal  or  that  which  comes  from 
people’s  lungs? 


48 


POWDER. 


Powder  produces  its  effects  by  changing  into  gas. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

POWDER. 

Powder  is  a very  harmless  thing  of  itself.  You  can  take  it 
into  your  hand  and  it  will  not  hurt  you ; but  touch  it  with  fire, 
and  it  flashes  and  explodes ; and  if  there  is  much  of  it,  it  breaks 
every  thing  in  pieces  all  around  it.  When  a magazine  or  a pow- 
der-mill blows  up,  there  is  great  destruction  of  every  thing  that  is 
near. 

You  know  that  powder  is  used  in  blasting  rocks.  A hole  is 
drilled  and  the  powder  is  put  in.'  The  blaster  lights  something 
which  will  burn  very  slowly  down  to  the  powder,  so  that  he  may 
have  time  to  get  out  of  the  way.  When  the  powder  explodes,  the 
rock  is  all  broken  apart  into  large  and  small  pieces. 

Now,  how  is  it  that  the  powder  does  all  this  ? It  does  it  by 
changing  all  at  once  into  a great  quantity  of  gas.  That  is  all. 
When  you  look  at  some  powder,  a heap  of  black  grains,  there  is 
no  gas  in  it ; but  the  moment  that  the  fire  touches  it  the  powder 
is  all  gone.  But  how?  Has  it  become  nothing?  No;  it  is 
changed  into  something  else.  The  black  powder  is  chiefly  gas 
now.  It  is  not  all  gas ; if  it  were,  you  could  not  see  it.  The 
smoke  that  you  see  is  gas,  with  something  else  from  the  burning 
powder  mixed  with  it.  This  gas  pushes  out  every  way  as  soon 
as  it  is  made,  so  that  it  may  get  room,  and  it  does  it  so  quickly 
that  it  carries  every  thing  before  it.  It  does  the  same  that  the 


POWDER. 


49 


Boy  blasting  a log.  Bursting  of  a steam-engine. 

^ 

air  does  when  it  moves  very  quickly,  only  it  moves  a great  deal 

more  quickly,  and  so  does  a great  deal  more. 

This  changing  of  powder  into  gas  is  done  very  quickly — as 
quick  as  a flash,  as  we  say.  I knew  a boy  that  once  forgot  this 
in  using  some  powder.  He  put  some  powder  into  a log  of  wood 
in  order  to  split  it ; but,  instead  of  fixing  a slow  match,  as  men  do 
in  blasting  rocks,  he  touched  off  the  powder,  intending  to  get  out 
of  the  way  by  running.  But  the  powder  was,  of  course,  too  quick 
for  him.  It  blew  him  over,  burning  him  a little,  and  frightening 
him  a great  deal. 

Sometimes  water  is  changed  into  steam  so  quickly  that  it  is  like 
the  changing  of  powder  into  gas  in  its  effects.  This  is  seen  in 
the  way  that  the  boiler  of  a steam-engine  is  sometimes  burst,  as  I 
will  explain  to  you.  By  carelessness,  there  is  not  a proper  supply 
of  water  in  it.  The  fire  will,  of  course,  heat  the  boiler  very  hot. 
Notv  see  what  must  be  the  consequence  when  more  water  is  let 
into  it.  The  boiler,  being  so  very  hot,  changes  this  fresh  supply 
of  water  all  at  once  into  steam,  and  you  know  it  takes  but  little 
Water  to  make  considerable  steam,  just  as  it  takes  but  little  pow- 
der to  make  a great  deal  of  gas.  All  this  steam  so  suddenly 
made  acts  precisely  like  the  gas  made  by  burning  powder.  It 
must  have  room,  and  as  there  is  not  room  enough  for  it  in  the 
boiler,  it  must  get  out  somewhere.  The  strong  boiler  can  not 
hold  so  much  steam  in,  and  it  bursts. 

But  perhaps  you  will  ask,  Is  it  nothing  but  air  or  gas  that 
throws  the  ball  out  of  the  cannon,  or  the  bullet  out  of  the  gun,  so 
fast  that  you  can  not  see  it  ? Can  such  a light,  thin  thing  as  gas 
3 D 


50 


POWDER. 


How  powder  sends  the  ball  out  of  a cannon. 

drive  a ball  through  even  thick  beams  of  wood  ? Yes,  the  gag 
that  the  powder  turns  into  can  do  all  this. 

Now  see  the  reason  why  the  powder  and  the  ball  must  be  put 
into  a cannon  to  do  this.  If  the  powder  should  be  laid  upon  the 
ground,  with  the  ball  lying  upon  it,  and  fire  should  be  touched  to 
it,  there  would  not  be  much  of  a sound,  and  the  ball  would  not  be 
moved  much.  Why  ? Because  the  gas  that  the  powder  turns 
into  has  a chance  to  escape  in  every  direction  ; but  when  the  pow- 
der and  the  ball  are  put  into  a cannon,  the  gas  is  all  shut  in,  so 
that  it  can  escape  but  one  way,  instead  of  every  way,  as  it  did 
when  the  powder  was  on  the  ground.  It  goes  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  cannon,  pushing  the  ball  before  it.  It  does  to  the  ball  just 
what  the  air  does  to  you  when  it  blows  against  you  and  pushes 
you  along.  It  is  a very  hard  blowing  of  gas  that  throws  out  the 
ball  so  fast.  The  gas  is  made  all  at  once,  as  I have  before  told 
you,  and  it  must  find  room  somewhere.  There  is  not  room  for  it 
in  the  cannon,  and  in  going  out  to  find  room  it  throws  the  ball 
out.  • 

If  you  should  blow  a little  ball  of  paper  from  your  mouth,  it 
would  not  go  far.  This  is  for  the  same  reason  that  a ball  laid 
upon  a heap  of  powder  is  not  moved  much  when  the  powder  is  ex- 
ploded. But  put  the  paper  ball  into  a quill,  and  blow  through  it, 
and  you  can  send  it  across  a room  quite  swiftly.  The  reason  is, 
that  the  air  which  you  blow  out  can  escape  only  through  the  quill, 
just  as  it  is  with  the  gas  in  the  cannon. 

When  the  gas  comes  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  cannon,  it  spreads 
out  in  all  directions,  because  it  has  room  now.  It  is  exactly  as  it 


POWDER. 


51 


How  rocks  are  blasted. 


How  a rocket  goes  up  in  the  air. 


is  with  a crowd  of  people  coming  through  a door ; as  fast  as  the 
crowd  gets  through,  it  spreads  out. 

Observe,  now,  how  rocks  are  rent  in  pieces  in  blasting.  Quite 
a large  hole  is  drilled  into  the  rock.  It  is  like  the  space  in  the 
barrel  of  a gun  when  it  is  done.  This  is  filled  with  powder. 
Why,  now,  when  the  powder  explodes,  does  not  the  gas  come  out 
of  this  in  the  same  way  that  it  does  out  of  a cannon  or  a gun  ? 
Why,  instead  of  this,  does  it  break  the  rock  in  pieces  ? It  is  be- 
cause the  hole  is  not  large  enough  for  so  much  gas  to  come  out. 
If  we  should  put  as  little  powder  into  it  as  we  do  into  a gun,  the 
gas  would  all  come  out,  as  it  does  out  of  a gun,  without  breaking 
the  rock  at  all ; but  it  is  filled  quite  full  of  the  powder,  and  so  a 
great  deal  of  gas  is  made.  If  we  should  put  as  much  powder  into 
a gun,  it  would  burst  like  the  rock,  because  there  would  not  be 
room  enough  for  the  escape  of  so  much  gas  unless  it  went  out 
slowly,  and  that  it  will  not  do. 

Powder  is  used  in  various  ways.  Some  kinds  of  fire-works  are 
made  in  such  a way  that  the  powder  does  not  burn  all  at  once,  as 
it  does  in  a gun  or  cannon.  You  know  that  when  a rocket  goes 
up,  it  is  not  sent  up  by  one  blafet  of  the  powder,  as  a ball  is  sent 
out  of  a gun.  The  powder  is  placed  in  the  tail  of  the  rocket, 
which  is  so  made  that  the  powder  burns  all  the  time  that  it  is  go- 
ing  up,  the  last  of  it  making  an  explosion  high  up  in  the  air,  scat- 
tering the  sparks  which  fall  in  so  beautiful  a shower.  Now,  did 
you  ever  think  just  how  it  is  that  the  rocket  is  made  to  go  up  so 
swiftly  ? It  is  the  gas  of  the  burning  powder  which  streams  out 
from  its  tail  all  the  time  that  makes  it  go  up.  This  pushes  down 


52 


POWDER. 


The  going  up  of  a rocket  compared  to  jumping  and  flying. 

against  the  air,  and  it  is  the  resistance  of  the  air  to  this  that  raises 
the  rocket.  It  is  just  as  the  resistance  of  the  air  to  the  down- 
ward stroke  of  the  bird’s  wings  raises  the  bird.  It  is  also  just  as, 
in  jumping  up  off  the  ground,  the  resistance  of  the  ground  to  your 
feet  makes  you  go  up.  You  press  with  your  feet  on  the  ground, 
and  so  the  rocket  presses  with  its  gas  on  the  air ; and  so  long  as 
gas  keeps  coming  out  of  its  tail  to  press  on  the  air,  the  rocket 
keeps  going  up.  When  the  gas  is  exhausted  the  rocket  comes 
down. 

You  have  sometimes  seen  whirling  wheels  in 
fire-works.  The  powder  in  the  wheel  is  arranged 
as  you  see  here ; and  as  it  burns,  the  resistance 
of  the  air  to  the  gas  makes  the  wheel  fly  around, 
for  the  same  reason  that  it  makes  the  rocket  go  up  into  the  air. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  powder  when  no  fire  touches  it?  How  is  the 
power  of  burning  powder  shown?  How  are  its  effects  produced?  What  is  the 
smoke  from  powder  ? What  is  said  about  the  quickness  with  which  powder  changes 
into  gas  ? Tell  about  the  boy  that  split  a log  of  wood  with  powder.  Give  the  com- 
parison about  steam.  How  is  it  that  the  gas  made  by  burning  powder  makes  a ball 
go  out  of  a cannon  or  gun  so  swiftly  ? Give  the  comparison  of  the  quill  and  the  ball 
of  paper.  Why  does  the  gas  from  a cannon  spread  after  it  gets  out  ? Tell  what 
is  said  about  blasting  rocks.  Explain  how  a rocket  is  made  to  go  up  in  the  air. 
What  is  the  comparison  about  flying  and  about  jumping  ? What  is  said  about  the 
whirling  wheel  in  fireworks  ? 


POP-GUNS. 


53 


Operation  of  the  pop-gun  explained. 


CHAPTER  X. 

POP-GUNS. 

Every  boy  and  girl  has  played  with  a pop-gun,  hut  did  you 
ever  think  how  it  works  ? I will  tell  you  about  this. 

You  know  that  the  cork  does  not  fly  out  till  the  rod  is  pushed 
a considerable  way  down  into  the  tube  or  barrel  of  the  gun,  and 
then  it  flies  out  all  at  once  with  a popping  noise.  What  makes 
it  fly  out  ? It  is  not  the  rod  alone,  for  it  does  not  touch  the  cork. 
It  is  the  air  that  is  between  the  rod  and  the  cork  that  gives  it  the 
push  that  makes  it  fly  out,  and  it  gives  so  quick  a push  as  to 
make  the  pop. 

I will  explain  this  to  you  a little  more  particularly.  When 
you  put  the  cork  into  the  end  of  the  gun,  the  barrel  is  full  of  air. 
Now,  if  the  cork  were  not  in,  as  you  pushed  the  rod  the  air  would 
all  go  out  before  it ; but  the  cork  in  the  end  keeps  all  the  air  in. 
As  you  push  the  rod,  you  crowd  the  air  into  a smaller  space.  If 
you  push  the  rod  half  way,  then  the  same  air  that  filled  the  whole 
gun  has  half  the  room  that  it  had  before  you  pushed  the  rod. 
Now,  when  air  is  pressed  or  crowded  in  this  way,  it  tries,  as  we 
may  say,  to  get  away  from  the  pressure.  In  doing  this,  it  presses 
on  the  cork ; but  the  cork  sticks  fast  in  the  mouth  of  the  gun  till 
the  pressure  is  enough  to  push  it  out,  and  when  it  gives  way  it 
does  it  all  at  once,  and  so  makes  the  popping  sound.  It  is  as  if 
the  air  gave  the  cork  a sudden  kick,  and  out  it  flies. 


54 


POP-GUNS. 


Explanation  of  the  potato  and  quill  pop-gun. 

When  I was  a boy,  we  had  no  such  nice  pop-guns  as  boys  now 
have.  We  had  to  make  them  ourselves.  We  would  sometimes 
make  the  tube  or  barrel  part  out  of  elder,  which,  you  know,  has  a 
large  pith.  We  would  sometimes  take  a quill  for  a barrel.  To 
this  we  would  fit  a stick  as  a rod.  We  would  then  punch  each 
end  of  the  quill  through  a thin  slice  of  raw  potato.  This  would, 
of  course,  leave  a round  piece  of  potato  in  each  end.  Now,  by 
pushing  the  rod  quickly  through  the  quill,  the  piece  of  potato  in 
the  farther  end  would  fly  out  with  a pop,  in  the  same  way  that 
a cork  does  from  the  pop-guns  nowadays.  You  see  how  this  is 
done.  The  air  which  is  shut  up  in  the  quill  between  the  two 
pieces  of  potato  is  crowded  into  a small  space  when  the  stick  is 
pushed  in.  It  tries  to  escape  from  this  pressure,  and  so  presses 
on  the  potato  at  the  farther  end.  This  gives  way  all  at  once  and 
flies  out.  But  why  must  we  have  the  potato  in  both  ends  ? It 
would  not  be  necessary  if  the  stick  could  be  made  to  fit  the  quill 
exactly ; but  it  can  not,  and  so  there  would  be  a leaking  of  air 
by  it  if  we  should  have  the  potato  in  only  one  end.  The  piece 
of  potato  in  the  end  where  you  put  in  the  stick  prevents  this 
leaking  of  air.  It  makes,  in  fact,  a tight  piston  for  the  stick  to 
work. 

It  is  the  springiness  of  the  air  that  makes  the  pop-gun  work. 
This  you  can  see  by  some  experiments.  Fill  your  pop-gun  with 
water,  and  see  how  different  from  the  air  it  will  act.  The  mo- 
ment that  you  push  the  rod,  the  cork  will  be  pushed  out  without 
any  popping,  and  the  water  will  run  out.  What  is  the  reason  of 
this  ? It  is  because  you  can  not  crowd  the  water,  as  you  do  the 


POP-GUNS. 


55 


Experiments  with  the  pop-gun. 

air,  into  any  smaller  room.  It  moves  straight  along,  and  pushes 
out  the  cork. 

As  the  water  can  not  be  crowded  into  any  smaller  space,  it  has 
no  spring.  But  the  air  can  be  shrunk  up,  as  we  may  say,  by 
pressure,  and  it  is  ready  to  swell  out  again  whenever  it  can  have 
a fair  chance  to  do  so ; and  the  harder  you  press  it,  the  greater 
is  this  springiness.  You  can  see  that  this  is  true  by  a little  ex- 
periment that  you  can  try  with  your  pop-gun.  Press  the  cork  end 
of  the  gun  firmly  against  something,  so  that  the  cork  can  not  come 
out.  Now  push  in  the  rod  quickly,  and  then  let  go  of  it.  It  will 
fly  back,  because  the  crowded  air,  by  a spring,  throws  it  back. 
And  the  harder  you  push  it  in,  the  more  forcibly  will  it  fly  back. 

Now,  if  you  try  the  same  experiment  with  the  water  in  the  gun, 
you  will  find  that  you  can  not  push  the  rod  unless  the  gun  leaks, 
and  then  the  water  will  come  back  by  the  piston.  Why  is  this  ? 
It  is  because  the  water  can  not  be  crowded  into  any  smaller  space, 
as  the  air  can  be.  If  it  could  be,  the  water  would  do  just  as  well 
in  the  pop-gun  as  air  does. 

You  see,  then,  that  it  is  the  spring  of  the  air  that  forces  the  cork 
out  of  the  gun ; and  the  air  has  this  spring  because  it  is  pent  up 
and  crowded  together,  as  we  may  say,  into  so  small  a space.  It 
wants  more  room,  and  pushes  to  get  it. 

The  cork  is  shot  out  of  the  pop-gun  in  the  same  way  that  the 
ball  is  shot  out  from  the  cannon.  The  air,  pent  up  in  a little  space 
in  the  pop-gun,  does  the  same  thing  as  the  gas,  pent  up  in  the  can- 
non, does.  The  air  wants  more  room,  and  so  it  kicks  out  the 
ccrk ; and  the  gas,  so  suddenly  made  out  of  the  powder,  wants 


56 


POP-GUNS. 


Elasticity  of  the  air. 


Operation  of  the  air-gun  explained. 


more  room,  and  so  it  kicks  out  the  ball.  The  gas  has  the  same 
springiness  that  the  air  has. 

It  is  this  springiness  of  the  air,  called  its  elasticity,  that  makes 
the  foot-ball  bound  so.  If  the  ball  were  filled  with  water  instead 
of  air,  it  would  not  bound  at  all,  because  the  water  has  no  elas- 
ticity. 

I have  told  you  that  the  more  the  air  is  pressed  the  greater  is 
its  springiness.  In  what  is  called  the  air-gun,  a great  deal  of  air 
is  crowded  into  a very  small  space — much  more  than  there  is  in 
a pop-gun ; and  a bullet  can  therefore  be  fired  from  it  with  force 
enough  to  go  through  a board.  It  is  done  in  this  way : The  press- 
ed air  is  shut  up  tight,  and  all  at  once  it  is  let  into  the  barrel  of 
the  gun  where  the  bullet  is.  It  throws  the  bullet  out  just  in  the 
same  way  that  the  gas  of  the  powder  does  in  a common  gun.  This 
air-gun  is  only  a curiosity.  It  will  never  come  into  use,  for  it  is 
quite  a tedious  operation  to  load  it  with  pressed  air.  The  com- 
mon gun,  you  know,  is  very  easily  loaded  with  powder,  and  the 
gas  which  it  turns  into  does  the  work  even  better  than  the  pressed 
air  in  the  air-gun. 

Questions. — What  makes  the  cork  fly  out  of  the  pop-gun  ? Explain  just  how  the 
pop-gun  operates.  Tell  how  the  quill  pop-gun  is  made.  Why  do  we  have  the  po- 
tato in  both  ends  of  the  quill  ? What  is  said  about  the  springiness  of  the  air?  How 
would  the  pop-gun  work  if  it  were  filled  with  water  ? Why  is  this  ? Give  the  ex- 
periment with  the  pop-gun  showing  how  springy  the  air  is.  How  is  it  when  you  try 
the  same  experiment  with  the  gun  filled  with  water  ? Give  the  comparison  between 
your  pop-gun  and  a cannon.  What  is  said  about  the  foot-ball  ? Tell  about  the 
air-gun.  Why  is  this  not  in  common  use  ? 


BALLOONS  AND  BUBBLES. 


57 


Wliat  makes  the  balloon  go  up.  Its  car.  How  the  balloon  is  made  to  come  down. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

BALLOONS  AND  BUBBLES. 

What  is  it  that  makes  a balloon  go  up  in  the  air?  It  is  be- 
cause it  is  so  light,  you  will  say ; but  what  it  is  made  of  is  not 
as  light  as  air  is.  It  will  not,  you  know,  fly  off  into  the  air  be- 
fore it  is  filled.  It  is  what  it  is  filled  with,  then,  that  makes  it  so 
light. 

The  balloon  is  filled  with  a gas  that  is  much  lighter  than  the 
air  is  around  it.  This  makes  it  so  light  that  it  flies  up  in  the  air 
very  rapidly,  and  to  a great  height ; and  if  the  balloon  is  very 
large,  it  can  carry  up  a person,  or  even  two  or  three  persons,  in  a 
sort  of  car  or  boat  attached  to  it,  as  represented  on  the  following 
page. 

The  car  is  attached  to  the  balloon  in  this  way : A netting  cov- 
ers the  balloon,  and  the  cords  that  hold  the  car  are  fastened  to  this 
netting.  It  would  not  do,  you  know,  to  fasten  them  to  the  bal- 
loon itself,  for  that  is  made  of  such  light  material  that  the  cords 
would  tear  out  with  the  slightest  pull  upon  them. 

How  do  you  think  the  person  in  this  car  manages  when  he  wants 
to  come  down  ? So  long  as  all  the  light  gas  remains  in  the  bal- 
loon, it  will  stay  up  in  the  air.  So,  when  he  wants  to  come  down, 
he  lets  out  some  of  this  gas.  He  does  this  very  carefully ; for,  if 
he  lets  out  too  much,  he  will  go  down  too  fast.  Sometimes  he 
will  go  down  too  fast  in  spite  of  all  his  care.  He  is  prepared  for 


58 


BALLOONS  AND  BUBBLES. 


IIow  the  balloon  is  prevented  from  going  down  too  fast. 


this,  however,  in  two  ways.  There  are  sand-bags  in  the  car, 
which  he  can  throw  out  when  the  balloon  is  falling  too  fast.  This 
makes  the  car  so  much  lighter  that  it  commonly  relieves  the  diffi- 
culty ; but  if  it  does  not,  he  can  use  the  parachute.  This  is  a 


BALLOONS  AND  BUBBLES. 


59 


The  parachute. 


The  danger  of  going  up  in  balloons. 


sort  of  umbrella,  made  very 
large  and  very  strong.  It  is 
represented  here  both  as  shut 
and  as  opened.  You  can  see 
how  the  resistance  of  the  air 
against  this  when  open  would 
make  him  go  down  much  slow- 
er than  he  would  go  without  his 
parachute. 

Balloons  are  sometimes  used 
in  warfare,  to  observe  battle- 
fields, or  send  messages  to  and 
from  besieged  cities.  They  were 
so  used  in  our  own  war  and  at 
the  recent  siege  of  Paris.  They 
will  probably  never  come  into  use  in  traveling ; for,  besides 
the  expense  and  danger,  a balloon  will  always  go  with  the 
wind,  and  you  never  can  tell  just  how  the  wind  blows  very 
high  up  in  the  air.  It  may  blow  there  in  a direction  whol- 
ly different  from  what  it  does  below,  close  to  the  earth.  An 
Englishman,  Major  Money,  went  up  in  a balloon,  with  the  wind 
blowing  from  the  sea ; and  he  supposed  that  he  should  be  carried 
far  into  the  country,  and  come  down  safely  upon  dry  land.  All 
was  right  till  he  had  got  up  about  a mile.  Then  suddenly  the 
balloon  changed  its  course,  and  went  out  toward  the  sea.  This 
was  because  the  wind  up  there  blew  in  a direction  just  opposite 
to  that  of  the  wind  below.  This  wind  took  him  far  out  to  sea, 


60 


BALLOONS  AND  BUBBLES. 


A great  escape.  The  hot-air  balloon. 

and  when  he  came 
down  he  was  nine 
miles  from  the  land. 
He  came  near  being 
drowned.  He  held 
on  to  the  cords  of 
his  balloon,  as  you 
see  here,  for  some 
time.  After  a while, 
a vessel  came  to  his 
relief,  and  took  him 
on  board.  As  such 
dangers  attend  going  up  in  balloons,  it  is  wrong  for  any  one  to  do  it. 

You  can  fill  a balloon  with  common  air  so  as  to  make  it  fly  up 
like  the  gas  balloon ; but  the  air  must  be  heated  to  do  this.  A 
boy  can  make  such  a balloon  very  easily  out  of  thin  paper.  He 
pastes  the  paper  together  so  as  to  shape  it  like  a balloon,  leaving 
one  end  open.  It  can  be  filled  with  hot  air  by  holding  it  over 
something  burning,  with  its  open  end  down.  It 
is  sometimes  done  in  another  way.  A sponge 
wet  in  turpentine  or  alcohol  is  fixed  under  the 
opening  of  the  balloon  by  a little  frame-work,  as 
represented  here ; and  if  the  balloon  goes  up  with 
the  sponge  still  burning,  it  will  stay  up  longer 
than  it  will  if  the  sponge  goes  out  before  it  is 
let  off,  because  the  air  will  keep  heated  longer. 
It  is  because  heated  air  is  so  much  lighter  than  the  air  around 


BALLOONS  AND  BUBBLES. 


61 


How  soap-bubbles  are  like  balloons. 

it  that  a balloon  filled  in  this  way  goes  up ; but  such  a balloon 
comes  down  soon.  It  will  not  keep  up  so  long  as  a gas  balloon 
will.  Why  is  this?  It  is  because  the  heatqd  air  in  the  balloon 
becomes  cooled,  and  then  it  is  no  longer  lighter  than  the  air  around 
it.  The  balloon  itself  is  heavier  than  air,  and  it  goes  up  and 
stays  up  only  when  it  is  full  of  something  which  is  lighter  than  air. 

Children  often  make  bal- 
loons in  another  way.  They 
make  them  of  soap  and  wa- 
ter, as  you  see  here ; for  the 
soap-bubble  that  flies  up  in 
the  air  is  really  a balloon ; 
and  how  beautiful  a one  it 
is ! How  thin  and  delicate 
is  the  covering  of  this  ball 
of  air ! It  is  a sheet  of  noth- 
ing but  soap  and  water,  and 
a touch  breaks  it ; but  it  an- 
swers the  purpose.  It  holds 
the  air,  and  away  it  flies. 

Now  what  is  the  reason 
and  then  comes  down  ? It 
flies  up  because  the  air  in  it  is  slightly  heated,  and  so  is  lighter  than 
the  air  around  it.  It  is  heated  or  warmed  air,  because  it  comes 
from  the  warm  lungs  of  the  person  that  blows  the  bubble.  But 
it  soon  becomes  cool,  and  then  the  bubble  comes  down,  just  as  the 
balloon  filled  with  hot  air  does  when  the  air  in  it  becomes  cool. 


that  the  bubble  flies  up  a little  way 


62 


BALLOONS  AND  BUBBLES. 


Some  things  about  bubbles  that  are  not  commonly  thought  of. 


There  are  some  things  to  be  noticed  about  this  ballooning  with 
soap  and  water.  The  water  must  be  warm,  or  your  little  balloons 
will  not  go  up.  Why  is  this  ? If  the  water  is  cold,  it  will  cool 
the  air  that  comes  from  your  warm  lungs,  and  so  your  soap  and 
water  balloon  will  be  filled  with  cold  air  instead  of  warm  air.  It 
will  therefore  drop  to  the  floor  when  you  expect  to  see  it  go  up. 
So,  too,  the  bubbles  will  not  go  up  so  easily  and  so  high  in  a warm 
room  as  they  will  in  cold  air.  The  greater  the  difference  is  in 
warmth  between  the  air  in  the  bubble  and  that  around  it,  the  bet- 
ter it  will  go  up. 

The  reason  of  this  is  plain.  The  cooler  the  air  is,  the  heavier 
it  is ; and  the  warmer  the  air  inside  of  the  bubble,  the  lighter  is  the 
bubble ; and  the  very  light  bubble  goes  up  quickly  in  the  heavy 
cold  air  for  the  same  reason  that  any  light  thing,  like  cork,  rises 
very  quickly  in  water.  Why  it  is  that  light  things  go  up  in  the 
air  and  the  water  I shall  explain  in  the  next  chapter. 

Questions. — What  is  it  in  a balloon  that  makes  it  so  light  ? How  is  the  car  at- 
tached to  the  balloon  ? How  does  the  person  in  the  car  manage  when  he  wants  to 
come  down  ? What  does  he  do  if  he  is  coming  down  too  fast  ? What  is  a para- 
chute, and  of  what  use  is  it  ? Why  will  balloons  never  be  used  for  traveling  ? Tell 
about  the  Englishman.  Tell  about  the  air  balloon.  Why  will  not  this  stay  up  as 
long  as  the  gas  balloon  ? How  do  children  often  make  balloons  ? Why  does  the 
soap-bubble  go  up  a little  way  and  then  come  down  ? Why  is  it  that  the  bubbles  do 
not  go  up  if  you  use  cold  water  ? Why  will  they  go  up  better  in  the  cold  air  than 
they  will  in  a warm  room  ? 


MORE  ABOUT  BALLOONS. 


63 


A curious  balloon  that  would  not  answer. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MORE  ABOUT  BALLOONS. 

Here  is  a balloon  which  was  contrived  in  1670,  two  hundred 

years  ago,  by  a man  whose 
name  was  Lana.  You  would 
suppose,  from  the  picture  of  it, 
that  it  would  go  very  well  with 
its  large  sail  for  the  wind  to 
blow  it  along.  There  are,  you 
see,  four  large  balls.  These, 
made  of  copper,  were  hollow. 
The  air  was  to  be  pumped  out 
of  them,  so  that  they  might  be 
very  light.  Now  with  this  bal- 
loon Lana  did  not  expect  to  go 
up  very  high,  but  to  travel 
along  considerably  above  all 
the  houses  and  hills,  just  in 
the  direction  in  which  the  wind 
would  carry  him  by  his  sail.  But  his  plan,  though  it  looks  well, 
as  you  see,  on  paper,  failed.  The  reason  was  this.  If  the  balls 
were  made  quite  thin,  the  air  outside  would  burst  them  in  as  soon 
as  the  air  in  them  was  pumped  out ; and  if  they  were  made  thick 
enough  to  prevent  this,  they  were  so  heavy  that  the  balloon  would 


64 


MORE  ABOUT  BALLOONS. 


Balloons  and  other  light  things  do  not  really  go  up,  hut  are  pushed  up. 


not  go  up.  From  what  I have  told  you  in  the  chapter  on  the  air- 
pump,  you  will  understand  why  the  balls,  when  made  thin,  were 
burst  in  by  the  outside  air. 

The  first  successful  attempt  at  ballooning  was  made  by  Mont- 
golfier, a Frenchman,  in  1783.  His  invention  was  that  of  the 
hot-air  balloon,  or  fire  balloon,  as  it  is  often  called.  An  improve- 
ment on  this  is  to  fill  the  balloon  with  a light  gas  instead  of  hot 
air.  It  is  in  this  kind  of  balloon  that  persons  go  up,  though  some 
have  gone  up  in  the  hot-air  balloon. 

I have  not  yet  told  you  the  real  cause  of  the  rising  of  the  bal- 
loon in  the  air.  Why,  you  will  say,  it  is  because  it  is  so  light, 
and  light  things  always  rise.  But  what  makes  light  things  rise  ? 
That  is  the  question. 

Light  things  do  not  go  up  of  themselves.  The  birds  and  the 
insects,  as  I have  told  you  in  Part  II.,  make  themselves  go  up  by 
working  their  wings  with  their  muscles.  But  light  things  that 
have  no  life  can  not  rise  of  themselves.  They  are  pushed  up. 
And  when  any  light  thing  has  got  up  as  high  as  it  can  go,  it  stops 
merely  because  it  can  not  be  pushed  any  higher. 

But  how  are  balloons  and  other  light  things  pushed  up?  This 
I will  now  explain  to  you.  The  air  around  the  balloon  is  heav- 
ier than  the  balloon  itself,  which  is  filled  with  a light  gas,  or  with 
air  that  is  light  because  it  is  heated  ; and  so  the  air  is  trying  all 
the  time,  as  we  may  say,  to  get  below  the  balloon.  In  doing  this, 
it  pushes  up  the  balloon  ; and  the  balloon  continues  to  be  press- 
ed upward  till  it  comes  to  air  that  is  as  light  as  the  balloon  is. 
If  it  be  a gas  balloon,  it  will  remain  there  till  some  of  the  gas  is 


MORE  ABOUT  BALLOONS. 


65 


Every  thing  gets  as  low  as  it  can.  Experiment  with  a phial. 

let  out ; and  if  it  be  a hot-air  balloon,  it  will  stay  there  till  the 
heated  air  begins  to  cool. 

Now,  when  the  balloon  goes  down,  it  is  because  it  has  become 
heavier  than  the  air  around  it.  It  goes  down  because  it  tries,  as 
we  may  say,  to  get  underneath  the  lighter  air.  In  going  up,  the 
air  pushed  it  up ; but  now  the  balloon  pushes  the  air  up.  The  bal- 
loon presses  the  air  that  is  below  it  out  of  the  way  so  as  to  get  un- 
der it.  This  is  what  it  keeps  doing  all  the  way  as  it  comes  down. 

I can  make  this  clear  by  a comparison.  Take  a long  phial. 
Before  .you  put  any  thing  into  it,  you  know  it  is  filled  with  air. 
Pour  some  oil  into  it.  The  oil  is  in  the  bottom  of  the  phial,  and 
the  air  is  above  the  oil.  The  reason  is  that  the  oil,  being  heavier 
than  the  air,  has  gone  down  through  it,  and  has  pushed  the  air  up 
from  the  bottom  of  the  phial  and  taken  its  place  there.  It  has 
done  to  the  air  in  the  phial  what  the  falling  balloon  does  to  the 
air  below  it.  Now  pour  a little  water  in.  This  will  do  to  the  oil 
as  the  oil  did  to  the  air.  It  will  go  down  to  the  bottom,  pushing 
the  oil  up  above  it ; for  water,  you  know,  is  heavier  than  oil.  If 
you  pour  now  some  quicksilver  into  the  phial,  this  heavy  fluid  will 
go  down  and  push  the  water  up  above  it. 

You  see,  in  this  experiment,  that  what  is  heaviest  always  goes 
to  the  lowest  place,  and  so  pushes  up  out  of  the  way  what  is  light- 
er. The  oil  pushed  up  the  air  ; then  the  water  pushed  up  the  oil ; 
and  then,  again,  the  quicksilver  pushed  up  the  water.  And  now 
you  have  all  the  four  things  in  the  phial  in  their  order.  The  heav- 
iest, the  quicksilver,  is  at  the  bottom,  and  next  is  the  water,  and 
next  the  oil,  and  the  lightest,  the  air,  is  at  the  top. 

3 E 


66 


MORE  ABOUT  BALLOONS. 


Another  experiment  with  the  phial.  Experiment  with  a heavy  gas. 

If  you  cork  the  phial  and  shake  it  well,  you  mix  quicksilver, 
water,  oil,  and  air  all  together.  Then,  if  you  let  it  stand,  you  see 
a good  deal  of  confusion  among  them  as  they  push  to  get  their 
places.  In  getting  right  again,  each  pushes  up  above  it  what  is 
lighter  than  itself.  The  struggle,  as  we  may  say,  is  to  get  the 
lowest  place.  Every  thing,  no  matter  how  light  it  is,  stays  down 
as  low  as  it  can  till  it  is  pushed  up. 

Now  what  you  see  with  these  different  things  in  a phial  is  true 
of  different  kinds  of  air,  or  gases.  A heavy  gas  takes  the  lowest 
place,  while  a lighter  one  goes  up,  or,  rather,  is  pushed  up.  You 
remember  that  I told  you,  in  Chapter  VIII.,  about  a gas  that  is 
sometimes  in  the  bottom  of  wells,  just  above  the  water.  This  gas 
is  heavier  than  air,  and  so  it  stays  at  the  bottom  of  the  well,  below 
the  air,  as  the  oil  in  the  phial  lay  between  the  lighter  air  above 
and  the  heavier  water  below.  If  it  were  lighter  than  air,  as  the 
gas  is  with  which  balloons  are  filled,  the  air  would  go  down  to  the 
bottom  of  the  well  and  push  up  this  gas,  for  the  same  reason  that 
the  oil  in  the  phial  pushed  up  the  air,  and  the  water  pushed  up 
the  oil,  and  the  quicksilver  pushed  up  the  water. 

This  gas  can  be  poured  out  of  a vessel  very  much  as  you  would 
pour  water  out  of  it.  A pretty  experiment  with  it  is  to  pour  it 
out  upon  a lighted  candle.  It  will  flow  down  upon  the  flame  and 
put  it  out.  In  doing  this,  it  pushes  up  the  air  that  is  around  the 
candle. 

Now  you  can  see  how  the  balloon  is  pushed  up  into  the  air.  If 
a gas  is  set  loose  that  is  lighter  than  air,  it  will  be  pushed  up  in 
the  air  in  the  same  way  that,  in  the  phial,  air  is  pushed  up  by  the 


MORE  ABOUT  BALLOONS. 


67 


Comparison  of  the  cork  and  the  balloon. 


oil,  or  the  oil  by  the  water ; and  so  the  balloon,  filled  with  the 
light  gas,  is  pushed  up  by  the  air.  It  makes  no  difference  whether 
the  gas  is  loose  or  is  in  a light  silk  bag ; in  either  case  it  will  be 
pushed  up.  If  loose,  it  will  be  scattered  about  as  it  is  pushed  up ; 
if  in  the  bag  or  balloon,  it  will  be  kept  together. 

A cork  rises  in  water  for  the  same  reason  that  a balloon  rises  in 
air.  The  balloon  is  pushed  up  by  the  air  around  it  because  it  is 
lighter  than  the  air,  and  so  the  cork  is  pushed  up  by  the  water  be- 
cause it  is  lighter  than  the  water.  As  you  hold  the  cork  under 
water,  your  hand  does  to  it  what  the  fastenings  do  to  the  balloon  : 
it  keeps  it  from  being  pushed  up.  And  when  the  fastenings  of 
the  balloon  are  let  go,  away  it  flies  in  the  air,  as  the  cork  flies  up 
in  the  water  when  you  let  go  of  it. 

When  the  cork  gets  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  it  stops.  It  will 
not  go  up  in  the  air  simply  because  it  is  heavier  than  air.  But 
if  you  put  a bag  full  of  light  gas  in  the  water  and  let  it  go,  it  will 
not  stop,  like  the  cork,  when  it  gets  to  the  surface,  but  will  keep  on 
going  up  because  it  is  lighter  than  air,  and  so  the  air  pushes  it  up 
just  as  the  water  did. 

Questions. — Do  light  things,  like  balloons,  rise  in  the  air  of  themselves  ? Tell 
about  Lana’s  balloon.  Why  did  it  not  succeed  ? Who  invented  the  hot-air  bal- 
loon? How  many  years  ago  was  it?  What  kind  of  balloon  is  used  for  going  up 
into  the  air?  What  makes  it  rise?  How  is  it  that  the  air  pushes  up  a balloon? 
What  makes  the  balloon  go  down  ? What  does  it  do  to  the  air  in  going  down  ? 
Tell  about  the  experiment  with  a long  phial?  How  is  it  if  you  shake  the  phial 
well  ? What  is  said  about  gases  ? Tell  about  the  gas  which  is  sometimes  in  wells. 
Tell  about  the  experiment  with  a candle.  What  becomes  of  a gas  that  is  lighter 
than  air  when  it  is  set  free  ? Does  it  make  any  difference  whether  it  is  loose  or  is 
in  a silk  bag  ? Give  the  comparison  of  the  balloon  and  the  cork. 


68 


HEATED  AIR. 


Experiment  with  a bladder. 


Eoasting  apples. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HEATED  AIR. 

BALLOONS  are  sometimes,  as  I have  told  you,  filled  with  heated 
air.  This  heated  air  is  lighter  than  the  cool  air  around  it,  and  so 
the  balloon  rises,  or,  rather,  is  pushed  up.  Now  observe  why  the 
heated  air  is  lighter  than  the  cool  air.  It  is  because  the  heat 
swells  the  air,  or  expands  it,  as  it  is  commonly  expressed.  The 
heat,  in  expanding  it,  makes  it  thinner,  and  of  course  it  is  lighter. 

You  can  see  by  a little  experiment  that  heat  swells  or  expands 
air.  Lay  a bladder,  partly  filled  with  air,  before  the  fire.  The 
heat  will  fill  out  the  bladder,  making  it  plump  and  hard,  for  it  will 
expand  the  air  that  is  in  it ; and  if  the  bladder  is  already  filled 
with  air  before  you  lay  it  down  on  the  hearth,  the  swelling  air  will 
burst  the  bladder. 

You  remember  that  I told  you  about  putting  an  apple  under 
the  jar  of  an  air-pump.  If  the  apple  is  shriveled,  the  moment 
that  you  begin  to  pump  the  air  from  around  it  the  apple  begins  to 
swell  out,  because  the  air  in  it  swells  or  expands.  In  this  exper- 
iment the  air  in  the  apple  expands  because  the  pressure  of  the  air 
around  it  is  lessened  by  its  becoming  thinner.  Now  the  air  in 
the  apple  can  be  made  to  expand  in  another  way — by  applying 
heat.  If  you  observe  an  apple  put  down  to  the  fire  for  roasting, 
you  see  that  it  swells.  If  it  happens  to  be  rather  wilted,  the 
swelling  of.it  will  be  very  manifest;  it  will  become  as  plump  as 


HEATED  AIR. 


69 


Popping  of  roasting  chestnuts.  Why  pricking  them  prevents  it. 

it  would  in  the  air-pump  when  the  air  is  pumped  out.  This  is 
because  the  air  in  it  is  expanded  by  the  heat.  And  when  it  sput- 
ters, it  is  the  expanded  air  that  throws  out  some  of  the  juice 
through  the  broken  skin. 

You  know  that,  if  you  roast  chestnuts,  they  pop  open  with  quite 
a noise,  and  sometimes  fly  half  across  the  room.  This  is  owing 
to  the  expansion  of  the  air  in  the  chestnut  by  the  heat.  This  air 
is  shut  up  in  the  tight  skin  of  the  chestnut ; and  when  it  is  con- 
siderably swelled  by  the  heat,  it  makes  the  skin  give  way  all  at 
once,  and  so  produces  the  popping  noise.  This  is  because  of  the 
springiness  or  elasticity  of  the  air.  That  I have  explained  before. 
If  you  prick  a hole  in  the  skin  of  the  chestnut  before  you  put  it 
down  to  the  fire,  there  will  be  no  popping,  for  the  air  will  gradu- 
ally escape  from  this  hole  as  fast  as  it  is  expanded.  This  hole  is 
to  the  chestnut  what  the  safety-valve  is  to  a steam-engine.  The 
engine  will  not  burst  while  the  steam  can  go  out  by  the  valve,  and 
so  the  chestnut,  with  a hole  for  the  air  to  get  out,  does  not  burst. 
In  the  case  of  both  the  apple  and  the  chestnut,  there  is  steam  mix- 
ed with  the  air.  The  steam  comes  from  the  moisture  in  the  apple 
and  the  chestnut,  and  this  has  the  same  springiness  that  air  has, 
and  so  helps  to  produce  the  effect.  I shall  tell  you  about  steam 
in  another  chapter. 

Heated  air  always  rises,  for  the  same  reason  that  a light  gas 
rises.  It  is  pushed  up  by  the  cold  air.  which  is  heavier.  In 
warming  a room,  the  cold  air  is  constantly  pushing  the  warmed 
air  up,  and  the  air  is  always  warmer  in  the  upper  part  of  the  room 
than  it  is  near  the  floor.  So,  also,  it  is  warmer  in  the  galleries  of 


70 


HEATED  AIR. 


Paper  wind-mills  on  a stove-pipe.  The  toy  wood-sawyer.  Why  heated  air  goes  up. 


a church  than  it  is  in  the  body  of  the  house,  as  you  perhaps  have 
sometimes  noticed. 

Around  a stove-pipe,  the  motion  of  the  heated  air  as  it  goes  up 
is  very  manifest.  Light  things  are  often  seen  flying  up  in  the 
current  of  the  air  about  the  pipe.  Sometimes,  for  amusement,  lit- 
tle paper  wind-mills  are  fastened  to  a stove-pipe,  the  heated  air 
whirling  them  around  as  it  strikes  them  in  going  up.  I have 
seen  a very  curious  toy,  in  which  a wood-sawyer  is  made  to  work 
by  the  whirling  of  a little  paper  wind-mill.  Whenever  there  is  a 
strong  current  of  hot  air,  the  wind-mill  turns  quite  rapidly,  and  this 
sets  the  sawyer  to  working  his  paper  saw  most  furiously.  The 
little  figure  goes  through  the  motions  of  sawing  very  perfectly. 
It  has  sawed  into  the  middle  of  the  log,  but  never  gets  any  far- 
ther. 

The  stream  or  current  of  air  about  a stove-pipe  is  made  by  the 
eooler  air,  which  pushes  up  that  which  is  warm.  As  fast  as  the 
air  is  heated  by  the  pipe,  cooler  air  takes  its  place  by  pushing  it 
up  out  of  the  way ; and  then  this  air,  coming  thus  near  the  pipe, 
gets  heated,  and  is  pushed  up  in  its  turn  by  some  more  air.  As 
this  is  constantly  going  on,  there  is  a constant  upward  current  of 
air ; and  the  hotter  the  pipe  is,  the  more  rapid  is  the  current,  be- 
cause it  heats  the  air  so  quickly  and  so  much. 

You  know,  in  a house  heated  by  a furnace,  how  the  heated  air 
comes  up  from  the  registers.  This  air  is  pushed  up.  As  soon 
as  the  air  around  the  furnace  is  heated,  cool  air  comes  in  to  push 
it  up  out  of  the  way,  and  then  this  cool  air  is  heated  and  is  push- 
ed up  by  more  cool  air,  and  so  on.  The  heated  air  escapes  from 


HEATED  AIR. 


71 


Why  a great  fire  makes  the  wind  rise. 


the  pressure  of  the  cool  air  by  going  up  in  the  large  tin  pipes. 
The  cool  air  is  always  driving  the  warm  up,  just  as  it  is  with  the 
air  about  a stove-pipe. 

Whenever  a great  fire  occurs,  after  it  has  continued  some  time, 
the  wind  rises,  as  it  is  expressed ; though  perhaps  it  blew  very 
gently  at  first,  now  it  blows  very  hard.  What  is  the  reason  of 
this  ? It  is  because  the  air  just  about  the  fire  becomes  much 
heated,  and  therefore  very  light.  The  cold  air  all  around  rushes 
therefore  toward  the  fire,  just  as  it  does  toward  a stove  or  a fire- 
place in  a room,  and  pushes  the  light  heated  air  up.  In  doing 
this  it  becomes  itself  heated,  and  is  pushed  up  by  other  cold  air, 
and  so  on.  In  this  way  the  air  all  around  the  fire  is  set  in  mo- 
tion toward  it,  and  the  hotter  the  fire  the  more  brisk  is  this  motion 
* — that  is,  the  harder  does  the  -wind  blow.  I shall  tell  you  some- 
thing about  the  way  in  which  heat  makes  winds  in  another  chap- 
ter. 

Questions. — Why  is  heated  air  lighter  than  cool  air  ? What  experiment  shows 
that  heat  expands  air  ? Tell  about  the  shriveled  apple.  Why  do  chestnuts  often 
pop  open  when  they  are  roasted  ? How  can  you  prevent  their  popping  ? Give  th? 
comparison  of  the  safety-valve.  In  warming  a room,  what  is  done  to  the  heated  airi 
What  is  said  about  the  galleries  of  a church  ? What  is  said  about  the  air  around  a 
stove-pipe  ? Tell  about  the  paper  wind-mills  and  the  wood-sawyer.  How  is  the  cur- 
rent of  air  about  a stove-pipe  made  ? What  makes  the  hot  air  come  up  from  the 
registers  of  a furnace  ? Why  does  the  wind  rise  in  a great  fire  ? 


72 


CHIMNEYS. 


Smoke  is  not  drawn  up  a chimney,  hut  is  pushed  up. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CHIMNEYS. 

You  hear  people  sometimes  say  of  a chimney  that  it  draws 
well,  as  if  the  smoke  were  in  some  way  drawn  up  the  chimney. 
This  is  not  so.  It  is  pushed  up.  Smoke  is  mostly  heated  air 
and  gas.  What  you  see  in  the  smoke  is  something  from  the  wood 
that  is  carried  up  in  the  heated  air,  in  the  same  way  that  down  or 
any  light  thing  is  carried  up  by  the  heated  air  around  a stove-pipe. 
It  is  this  part  of  the  smoke  which  you  can  see  that  makes  the  soot. 
The  heated  air  is  pushed  up  the  chimney  by  the  cooler  air  in  the 
room.  It  is  done  in  this  way  : The  air  close  to  the  fire  is  heated  ; 
the  air  next  to  it  presses  it  up,  and  then  gets  heated  itself,  and  is 
pressed  up  by  some  more  air  that  comes  in  its  turn  to  be  heated, 
and  so  on.  In  this  wTay  there  is  a constant  stream  of  air  up  the 
chimney,  just  as  there  is  around  a stove-pipe. 

The  air  in  a room  where  there  is  a fire  is  ever  pushing  toward 
the  fire ; and  air  is  coming  into  the  room,  too,  in  every  way  that 
it  can  get  in,  to  take  the  place  of  that  which  goes  up  the  chimney. 
It  comes  through  the  door  when  it  is  opened,  and  through  every 
crack  and  crevice.  If  you  hold  a light  near  the  fire-place,  the 
flame  will  bend  toward  it,  because  the  air  is  pressing  that  way. 
If  you  hold  it  near  a crack,  the  air  that  is  coming  in  will  blow  it 
toward  you. 

If  there  are  two  rooms  connected  by  folding-doors,  with  a fire- 


CHIMNEYS. 


73 


A lady  in  trouble  from  a smoking  fire-place. 


place  in  each,  when  a fire  is  made  in  one  alone,  cold  air  will  come 
down  the  other  chimney ; for,  as  the  air  in  the  room,  as  I have 
told  you,  is  all  moving  toward  the  fire,  the  cold  air  comes  in  wher- 
ever it  can  get  in  to  take  its  place.  A lady  of  my  acquaintance 
was  once  in  great  trouble  because  she  did  not  understand  this. 
Her  house  was  filled  with  smoke.  It  happened  in  this  way. 
There  were  two  rooms  connected  by  folding-doors.  A fire  had 
been  built  in  one  fire-place,  and,  after  this  was  well  agoing,  a fire 
was  built  in  the  other ; but  the  moment  this  second  fire  was  light- 
ed, the  smoke  puffed  out  into  the  room.  How  was  this  ? It  was 
pushed  out  by  the  cold  air  coming  down  the  chimney.  The  lady 
sent  for  a neighbor  who  understood  about  such  things,  and  he  re- 
lieved her  of  the  trouble  at  once.  He  shut  the  folding-doors,  and 
opened  a window  in  the  room  where  the  fire-place  smoked,  and 
now  the  smoke  went  directly  up  the  chimney.  After  the  fire  had 
been  burning  for  a little  time,  and  had  warmed  the  chimney,  the 
folding-doors  were  opened,  and  both  fires  burned  well. 

The  reason  of  all  this,  I suppose,  is  plain  to  you.  While  the 
folding-doors  were  open,  there  was  a movement  of  the  air  in  both 
rooms  toward  the  fire  first  kindled,  and  so  the  cold  air  came  down 
the  chimney  where  there  was  no  fire.  When  the  fire,  therefore, 
was  kindled  in  the  second  fire-place,  this  cold  air,  coming  down, 
blew  the  smoke  out,  and  would  not  let  it  go  up  to  warm  the  chim- 
ney. But  when  the  doors  were  closed  between  the  rooms,  there 
was  a stop  put  to  all  this.  The  movement  of  the  air  toward  the 
fire  first  made  was  now  confined  to  that  one  room.  There  could 
no  air  come  from  the  other  room  now.  And  then  opening  the 


74 


CHIMNEYS. 


Why  opening  a door  stops  the  smoking  of  a fire-place.  Experiments  with  a light. 

window  let  in  cold  air  that  pushed  the  smoke  up  the  chimney  of 
this  room  at  once. 

You  can  now  understand  why  it  is  that  we  open  a door  or  win- 
dow to  stop  the  smoking  of  a fire-place.  It  is  because  we  want 
the  help  of  some  more  cold  air  to  push  the  smoke  up.  In  some 
fire-places  we  can  never  make  a fire  without  its  smoking,  unless 
we  have  a door  or  a window  open  a little  while  at  first.  The  rea- 
son that  the  fire  is  not  apt  to  smoke  after  it  has  been  going  some 
time  is  that  the  chimney  has  become  well  heated,  and  so  makes 
the  air  very  thin  and  light  as  it  goes  up ; and  the  lighter  the  air 
is,  you  know,  the  more  easily  it  is  pushed  up,  just  as  you  can  raise 
a bag  of  feathers  more  easily  than  you  can  raise  a block  of  wood. 

One  thing  more  I must  tell  you  about  the  cold  air  coming  into 
a room  where  there  is  a fire.  Suppose  that  you  open  a door  into 
a cold  entry.  Now,  if  you  hold  a light  near  the  floor  by  the  open 
door,  the  flame  will  be  blown  inward  ; but  if  you  hold  it  up  at  the 
top  of  the  door,  it  will  be  blown  outward  toward  the  entry.  Why 
is  this  ? It  is  because  the  cold  air  of  the  entry  comes  in  at  the 
lower  part  of  the  opening,  while  some  of  the  warm  air  of  the  room 
goes  out  at  the  upper  part  to  take  the  place  of  the  cold  air  that 
comes  in.  The  warm  air  is^ above  the  cold  air,  because  it  is  light- 
er. It  is  the  cold  air  coming  in  that  blows  the  light  when  you 
hold  it  low  down,  and  it  is  the  warm  air  going  out  that  blows  it 
when  you  hold  it  up  high.  The  warm  air  that  goes  out  is  less 
in  quantity  than  the  cold  air  that  comes  in.  The  reason  is  that 
there  is  cold  air  coming  into  the  entry  all  the  time  from  out- 
doors, by  every  crevice  and  hole,  and  this,  in  part,  supplies  the 


CHIMNEYS. 


75 


A free  supply  of  air  necessary  to  make  a fire  burn  well.  Anecdote. 

place  of  the  air  that  goes  in  from  the  entry  to  the  room.  The 
Harne,  therefore,  is  not  blown  as  strongly  when  you  hold  the  light 
above  as  when  you  hold  it  below. 

I told  you  in  Chapter  I.  that  nothing  will  burn  without  air. 
The  air  that  presses  toward  a fire  feeds  it,  as  it  is  expressed.  It 
does  not  all  go  up  the  chimney  as  heated  air.  Some  of  it  is  used 
in  the  burning  of  the  wood  and  coal ; and  what  goes  up  the  chim- 
ney is,  as  I have  told  you  in  the  first  part  of  this  chapter,  partly 
heated  air  and  partly  gas. 

Now  a fire  will  not  burn  well  unless  it  has  a free  supply  of  air. 
Fresh  air  must  keep  coming  to  it  to  feed  it.  But  this  can  not 
be  unless  there  is  a good  upward  current  from  the  fire.  Firemen 
very  well  understand  this  in  putting  out  fires.  If  the  fire  be  in- 
side of  a building,  the  more  shut  up  it  can  be  kept  the  less  rapid- 
ly will  the  fire  spread,  and  the  more  easily  can  it  be  put  out.  If 
all  the  doors  should  be  opened,  and  the  windows  broken  out,  the 
fire  would  rage,  because  the  air  would  come  in  freely  at  the  doors 
and  lower  windows,  and  go  out  freely  at  the  upper  windows.  The 
fire  would  then  have  the  same  upward  current  that  it  has  in  a 
chimney.  I will  relate  to  you  an  anecdote,  which  will  show  how 
much  can  be  saved  by  understanding  such  things.  A fire  w^as 
discovered  early  one  morning  by  a flickering  light  shining  through 
the  windows  in  the  upper  room  of  a shop.  An  acquaintance  of 
mine  was  among  the  first  to  get  there,  and  he  found  a man  about 
to  beat  the  door  in  with  an  axe,  so  as  to  get  at  the  fire.  He  kept 
him  from  doing  this,  and  would  not  let  him  touch  the  door  till  they 
had  got  a good  supply  of  water  on  hand.  After  he  was  satisfied 


76 


CHIMNEYS. 


Tall  chimneys  of  factories.  Lamp  chimneys. 

that  there  was  enough  water  to  put  out  the  fire,  he  then  let  the 
man  use  the  axe,  and  they  rushed  up  and  easily  put  out  the  fire. 
If  he  had  let  him  break  open  the  door  at  first,  it  would  have  let 
in  the  air  to  feed  the  fire,  and  the  fire  would  have  got  well  agoing 
before  the  water  was  brought;  and,  as  it  was  in  a block  of  wood- 
en buildings,  we  should  have  had  a great  fire. 

The  brisker  the  upward  current  of  a fire  is,  the  more  briskly 
does  the  fire  burn.  This  is  the  reason  that  foundries  and  other 
factories,  where  they  want  a very  hot  fire,  have  such  tall  chimneys. 
The  air  and  gas  in  such  a chimney  are  kept  hot  for  some  time,  in- 
stead of  being  cooled  by  spreading  out  in  the  open  air.  The  cur- 
rent, therefore,  up  the  chimney  is  very  rapid,  and  so  fresh  air  comes 
rapidly  to  the  fire,  and  makes  it  burn  very  briskly.  For  the  same 
reason,  a very  brilliant  light  is  given  by  those  lamps  that  have 
tall  glass  chimneys.  The  wick  is  thus  made  to  burn  briskly. 

Questions . — Why  does  smoke  go  up  a chimney?  What  is  smoke?  What  is 
there  in  smoke  that  you  can  see  ? What  is  soot  ? Tell  how  it  is  that  the  smoke  is 
pushed  up  the  chimney.  What  is  said  about  the  air  in  a room  where  there  is  a 
fire  ? What  will  happen  to  a light  if  you  hold  it  near  the  fire-place  ? What  if  you 
hold  it  near  a crack  in  the  wall  of  the  room  ? Tell  about  the  rooms  with  folding- 
doors  between  them.  Why  do  we  open  a door  or  a window  to  stop  the  smoking  of 
a fire-place  ? Why  is  a fire-place  not  apt  to  smoke  when  the  fire  has  been  going 
for  some  time  ? Tell  about  holding  a light  at  the  lower  part  and  at  the  upper  part 
of  a door  that  opens  out  into  a cold  entry.  How  is  some  of  the  air  that  presses  to- 
ward a fire  used?  What  is  necessary  to  have  a fire  burn  well?  What  is  said  about 
a building  that  is  on  fire  inside  ? Tell  the  anecdote  about  the  fire  in  a shop.  Why 
do  some  factories  have  tall  chimneys  ? What  is  said  about  the  chimneys  of  some 
lamps  ? 


USES  OF  WATER. 


77 


The  beauty  of  water.  Ice,  snow,  and  frost.  Water  the  world’s  cleanser. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

USES  OF  WATER. 

What  a beautiful  tiling  is  water  ! How  pure  and  clear,  like  a 
crystal ! How  “sparkling  and  bright  it  is,”  as  you  see  its  ripples 
in  the  sun ! How  we  admire  it,  as  it  is  gathered  in  little  dew- 
drops  on  the  flowers  and  leaves  in  the  morning ! What  a beauti- 
ful mirror  the  water  makes  when  the  wind  is  hushed,  showing  us 
on  its  smooth  surface  the  trees,  the  houses,  and  every  thing  upon 
the  shore ! 

And  what  beauty  water  has  when  the  cold  turns  it  into  crystals 
in  the  ice,  the  snow,  and  the  frost ! It  is  the  same  pure,  clean 
thing  then  as  it  is  when  it  runs  in  the  brook,  or  forms  the  dew- 
drop,  or  falls  in  the  gentle  shower. 

How  useful,  too,  water  is ! It  is  the  world’s  cleanser.  It  wash- 
es every  thing.  See  how  dusty  every  thing  looks  after  a long  dry 
time.  Even  the  grass  and  the  leaves  are  covered  with  dust.  But 
let  a brisk  shower  come,  and  how  changed  the  scene ! The  trees, 
the  flowers,  and  the  grass  look  as  clean,  and  fresh,  and  bright  as 
the  washed  face  of  a beautiful  child. 

And  then  how  the  animals  love  to  wash  themselves  in  the  wa- 
ter ! See  the  dog  rush  into  it,  and  then,  on  coming  out,  give  him- 
self a thorough  shaking.  It  would  be  well  if  all  children  would 
be  as  fond  of  being  clean  as  he  is.  It  is  amusing  to  see  the  cana- 


78 


USES  OF  WATER. 


The  washing  of  the  air.  How  plants  drink.  Water  in  fever. 

ry  bird  take  his  morning  bath  in  his  cup  of  water.  How  he  makes 
the  water  fly  as  lie  flutters  his  wings ! 

Did  you  ever  think  that  the  air  every  once  in  a while  needs  a 
^washing?  It  does,  just  as  much  as  you  do  and  every  thing  else 
in  the  world.  Even  when  it  seems  clean  as  you  look  up  through 
it,  there  are  some  things  in  it  that  would  be  very  bad  for  us  if 
they  remained  there.  They  would  produce  disease  in  us.  They 
would  be  injurious  also  to  other  animals,  and  even  to  plants.  The 
air,  therefore,  must  every  now  and  then  have  a washing  to  purify 
it ; and  every  time  that  it  rains  you  can  think  of  the  air  as  taking 
a shower-bath  for  this  purpose.  You  see,  then,  how  true  it  is  that 
water  is  the  world’s  cleanser.  It  washes  every  thing,  even  the  air. 

But,  besides  being  the  world’s  cleanser,  water  is  the  world’s 
drink.  It  is  the  drink  of  plants  as  well  as  of  man  and  animals. 
The  plants  drink  it  from  the  ground  by  the  mouths  in  their  roots. 
A great  part  of  the  sap,  as  I have  told  you  in  Part  I.,  is  water. 

We  use  water  so  constantly  as  a drink  that  we  do  not  think 
how  good  and  refreshing  it  is.  We  think  of  this  once  in  a while 
when  we  happen  to  be  very  thirsty.  When  one  is  parched  with 
fever,  he  thinks  of  cold  water  as  the  very  best  thing  on  the  earth ; 
and  when  he  is  asleep,  he  dreams  of  the  well  or  spring  from  which 
he  drank  so  often  in  his  childhood.  A lady  who  was  sick  with 
yellow  fever,  far  away  from  home,  in  her  delirium  talked  continual- 
ly about  a pump  that  was  behind  a house  she  had  long  lived  in, 
some  time  before  this,  and  kept  calling  for  water  from  that  pump. 

The  salt  water  of  the  sea,  you  know,  is  not  fit  for  drinking.  And 
you  have  heard  of  persons  in  a shipwreck  escaping  in  a boat  from 


USES  OF  WATER. 


79 


Sea  water.  Feeling  of  the  shipwrecked  man  about  water.  Water  in  every  thing. 


a sinking  ship,  and  then  living  almost  without  food  and  water  for 
many  days.  How  careful  are  they  not  to  waste  any  of  the  water 
which  they  happen  to  have ! Each  drinks  but  little,  though  they 
are  suffering  greatly  with  thirst.  And  when  it  is  all  gone,  they 
would  give  any  thing  for  the  smallest  draught  of  fresh  water.  So 
dreadful  is  the  suffering  from  thirst  that  water  is  almost  the  only 
thing  which  they  think  of.  They  wish  that  it  would  rain,  so  that 
they  might  catch  some  water.  There  is  water  all  around  them,  but 
it  seems  to  mock  them  with  its  briny  waves.  It  is  not  the  water 
which  they  want ; they  know  that  it  would  do  no  good  to  drink  it. 

One  who  had  been  in  a boat  for  some  days  without  water  said 
that  it  seemed  to  him  always  after  as  if  it  was  wrong  to  waste  pure 
fresh  water,  and  he  never  could  use  it  as  freely  as  he  did  before 
his  shipwreck.  How  thankful  should  we  be  that  God  has  given 
it  to  us  so  abundantly  that  we  can  commonly  use  it  without  stint 
or  measure.  It  is  one  of  his  most  precious  gifts,  and  yet  it  is  so 
common  that,  when  we  want  to  speak  of  any  thing  as  being  very 
free  and  abundant,  we  say  that  it  is  as  free  as  water. 

But  we  do  not  merely  drink  water.  It  is  mixed  up  with  every 
thing  that  we  eat.  There  is  much  water  in  all  fruits.  There  is 
so  much  in  the  watermelon  that  it  gives  it  its  name.  It  is  al- 
most all  water,  with  a little  sugar  in  it.  Much  of  the  sap  in 
plants  and  trees  is  water ; so,  also,  it  is  with  the  blood.  It  could 
not  run  in  the  arteries  and  veins  if  there  was  not  water  in  it. 
More  than  three  quarters  of  your  blood  is  water.  There  is  much 
water,  too,  in  the  air.  So  you  see  that  water  is  every  where,  just 
as  the  air  is. 


80 


USES  OF  WATER. 


The  multitudes  of  animals  that  live  in  water. 

But  I have  not  told  you  all  the  uses  of  water.  The  running 
water  turns  the  water-wheels  by  which  the  machinery  in  mills  and 
factories  is  put  in  motion.  We  sail  about  on  the  water  in  boats, 
and  ships,  and  steamers.  The  steam-engines  are  worked  by  wa- 
ter changed  into  steam. 

We  must  not  forget  the  multitudes  of  fishes  and  other  animals 
that  live  in  the  water,  as  we  do  in  the  air.  There  is  a world  of 
life  in  the  water.  It  is  so  much  out  of  sight  that  we  do  not  think 
much  about  it.  We  only  get  glimpses  of  this  water-world  now 
and  then,  and  do  not  think  how  many  animals  there  are  that  live 
in  the  brooks,  and  rivers,  and  ponds,  and  seas.  Besides  the  fishes 
that  swim  in  the  water,  there  are  multitudes  of  animals  that  live 
on  the  bottom.  There  are  oysters,  and  clams,  and  lobsters,  that 
you  are  familiar  with ; and  there  are  multitudes  of  animals  that 
live  in  their  beautiful  shell  houses,  some  of  which  are  very  small, 
and  almost  as  countless  often  as  the  sands  with  which  they  are 
mingled. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  beauty  of  water  ? What  is  said  about  its  be- 
ing the  world’s  cleanser?  Tell  about  the  dog  and  the  canary  bird.  What  is  said 
about  the  air’s  being  washed?  How  do  the  plants  drink  water?  Do  we  com- 
monly think  how  good  a drink  water  is  ? Tell  about  the  lady  sick  with  fever. 
What  is  said  about  the  salt  water  of  the  sea?  What  about  the  suffering  from 
thirst  so  common  with  shipwrecked  persons  ? Tell  about  the  feeling  of  one  who 
had  suffered  in  this  way.  What  is  said  about  the  abundance  of  water?  What  is 
said  about  water’s  being  in  every  thing  ? How  much  of  your  blood  is  water  ? Men- 
tion some  more  uses  of  water.  What  is  said  about  the  animals  that  live  in  water  ? 


WATER  ALWAYS  TRYING  TO  BE  LEVEL. 


81 


The  particles  of  water  compared  to  shot. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

WATER  ALWAYS  TRYING  TO  BE  LEVEL. 

If  you  look  at  water  in  a bowl,  you  see  that  its  surface  is  smooth 
and  level.  If  now  you  stir  it  about,  you  make  it  uneven.  Watch 
it  as  it  becomes  still  and  smooth  again.  There  seems  to  be  a kind 
of  struggle  as  all  the  particles  of  water  take  their  places. 

But  you  will  ask  me  what  I mean  by  the  particles  of  water. 
We  suppose  that  water  is  made  up  of  exceedingly  fine  balls. 
These  balls  or  particles  are  so  round  and  smooth  that  they  move 
among  each  other  very  easily.  This  is  the  reason  that  water  runs 
so  readily,  and  so  soon  becomes  level  when  nothing  is  disturbing 
it.  If  the  particles  were  not  so  smooth,  they  would  rub  each  oth- 
er. They  would  not  roll  over  each  other  so  freely  as  they  do. 

To  make  this  plain,  we  will  compare  water  to  small  shot.  If 
you  put  these  into  a bowl,  they  will  not  lie  level,  as  water  does. 
Now  what  is  the  reason  that  these  round  balls  of  lead  do  not  act 
as  the  smaller  round  balls  of  the  water  do  ? It  is  because  they 
are  not  as  smooth.  They  can  not  roll  over  each  other  easily,  for 
they  rub  together.  They  can  not  in  any  way  be  made  as  smooth 
as  the  particles  of  water  are. 

If  you  pour  the  shot  from  one  bowl  into  another,  they  will  run 
somewhat  as  the  water  does ; but  they  will  not  slip-  along  as  eas- 
ily, for  they  rub  each  other  as  they  go,  while  there  is  almost  no 
rubbing  among  the  particles  of  water. 

8 F 


82 


WATER  ALWAYS  TRYING  TO  BE  LEVEL. 


The  particles  of  water  round  and  smooth. 


Why  water  runs. 


The  balls  or  particles  of  water  are  exceedingly  small.  They 
are  so  small  that  no  one  has  ever  seen  them.  How,  then,  you  will 
ask,  do  we  know  that  they  are  round  and  smooth  ? We  say  that' 
they  are,  because  we  can  not  see  how  they  could  move  about 
among  each  other  so  easily  if  they  were  rough,  or  had  corners  or 
points  on  them.  You  can  not  roll  about  blocks  or  nails  as  you 
can  roll  shot;  and  the  smoother  the  shot  the  more  easily  they 
will  roll.  So  then  we  know,  from  what  we  see  in  other  things, 
that  the  particles  of  water  that  roll  so  easily  must  be  round,  and 
must  be  smooth  also. 

If  the  particles  of  water  were  large  enough  for  us  to  see  them, 
they  would  look  to  us,  on  the  surface  of  still  water,  as  a level  layer 
of  little  shot  or  round  beads,  and  we  should  see  them  rolling 
about  among  each  other  whenever  there  is  the  least  motion  of  the 
•water;  but,  as  we  can  not  see  the  particles,  the  surface  of  the 
water  looks  like  smooth  glass  when  they  are  all  still. 

As  water  moves  so  easily,  it  is  almost  always  in  motion.  It  is 
moved  by  the  wind,  and  is  raised  by  it  sometimes  into  very  high 
waves.  It  runs  in  the  brooks  and  rivers. 

In  all  its  motions  the  water  is  always  trying  to  be  level ; and 
this  is  the  only  reason  that  water  ever  runs.  Water  that  is  level 
will  not  run ; it  will  be  still.  But,  when  you  disturb  this  level, 
it  will  run  till  it  finds  its  level  again. 

I will  make  this  plain  to  you.  Suppose  that  you  have  a trough 
stopped  at  both  ends.  Put  some  water  in  it  as  it  lies  on  level 
ground.  The  water  is  level  in  it,  and  is  quiet.  Now  raise  up 
one  end  of  the  trough  a little.  The  water  is  at  once  in  motion. 


WATER  ALWAYS  TRYING  TO  BE  LEVEL. 


83 


Brooks  and  rivers. 


The  power  of  running  water. 


Dams. 


Why  ? Because  you  have  disturbed  the  level.  The  water  runs 
from  the  end  that  you  raise  toward  the  other  end.  Now  hold  the 
trough  still  a little  time  with  the  end  raised,  and  as  soon  as  the 
water  gets  its  level  again,  it  will  be  as  still  as  it  was  before. 

Suppose  the  trough  is  open  at  both  ends,  and  water  is  running 
in  all  the  time  at  the  raised  end.  It  will  keep  running  toward  the 
lower  end.  It  will  be  all  the  time  trying  to  get  on  a level,  but 
never  can.  You  see  here  the  reason  that  water  runs  in  a brook 
or  river.  You  can  think  of  a brook  or  a river  as  a trough  with 
one  end  a little  raised  ; and  the  water  in  it  is  always,  as  we  may 
say,  running  after  a level,  but  never  finds  it.  The  sea  is  to  a rivv 
er  as  a tub  would  be  to  the  trough  that  pours  its  water  into  it. 

There  is  often  great  power  in  the  water  of  a running  stream. 
It  works  a great  deal  of  machinery  in  mills  of  various  kinds  ; and, 
if  the  stream  be  swollen  with  heavy  rains,  the  water  carries  away 
bridges,  houses,  etc.  It  does  all  this  in  trying  to  get  on  a level. 
If  it  all  could  be  made  level  in  some  way,  as  you  see  it  in  a bowl 
or  a pond,  it  would  do  no  such  violence. 

Sometimes  men  build  a dam  across  a river.  This  is  for  the 
purpose  of  turning  the  water  off  one  side  into  a canal.  The  dam 
stops  some  of  the  water  running  in  the  river,  sometimes  all  of  it. 
In  doing  this  the  water  is  made  about  level  just  above  the  dam, 
and  so  is  much  more  quiet  than  it  is  any  where  else  in  the  river. 

Children  often  build  mud  dams,  and  the  water  that  they  stop 
is  very  still  because  it  is  level.  When  the  dams  give  way,  how 
briskly  the  water  runs  to  try  to  get  on  a level  again. 

Water  is  always  on  the  same  level  in  the  spout  of  a coffee-pot 


84 


WATER  ALWAYS  TRYING  TO  BE  LEVEL. 


Pouring  from  a coffee-pot.  A supposed  discovery  of  perpetual  motion. 

that  it  is  in  the  pot  itself,  as  represented  in  the -first  of  these  fig- 
ures. If  the  coffee-pot  be  turned  up,  as  seen  in  the  second  fig- 


ure, the  level  is  still  preserved.  If  it  be  turned  up  a little  more, 
the  liquid  in  the  spout,  in  trying  to  be  on  a level  with  that  in  the 
pot,  runs  out,  as  represented  in  the  third  figure. 

A man  once  thought  that  he  had  discovered  a way  of  keeping 
up  perpetual  motion.  He  thought  that  he  could  make  a vessel  of 
such  a shape  that  some  water  in  it  would  never  stop  moving. 
The  vessel  was  to  be  of  the  shape  that  you  see  here.  His  idea 
was,  that  there  was  so  much  more  water  in 
the  vessel  than  there  was  in  the  spout,  that  it 
would  press  the  water  in  the  spout  up  its  whole 
length,  and  make  it  run  into  the  vessel.  You 
can  see  that,  if  it  would  operate  in  this  way, 
the  water  would  be  always  in  motion — it  would 
be  going  the  rounds  by  way  of  the  spout  all 
the  time.  But  the  difficulty  is  that  it  would  not  operate  in  this 
way.  After  the  man  made  his  vessel,  he  found  that  the  water 


WATER  ALWAYS  TRYING-  TO  BE  LEVEL. 


85 


Water  can  rise  in  the  pipes  of  an  aqueduct  as  high  as  it  is  in  the  fountain. 


was  only  as  high  in  the  spout  as  in  the  vessel,  as  you  see  in  the 
figure.  It  is  just  as  it  is  with  the  spout  of  the  coffee-pot. 

In  the  same  way,  if  an  aqueduct  pipe  extend  from  a spring,  the 
water  will  not  rise  any  higher  in  the  pipe  than  it  is  in  the  spring. 
The  pipe  is  to  the  spring  what  the  spout  is  to  a coffee-pot.  And 
it  makes  no  difference  how  long  the  spout  is.  The  water  will 
stand  at  the  same  height  in  a pipe  that  extends  for  miles  that  it 
does  in  one  that  goes  but  a little  way  from  the  reservoir  or  fount- 
ain. This  can  be  illustrated  in  a vessel  with  two  pipes,  as  seen 
here.  The  water  stands  in  the  branch  pipe  that  is  farthest  from 


the  vessel  at  the  same  height  that  it  does  in  the  near  one.  Some- 
times an  aqueduct  will  supply  the  lower  stories  of  a building  with 
water,  but  not  the  upper  stories.  The  reason  is  that  the  upper 
stories  are  higher  than  the  level  of  the  water  in  the  fountain  from 
which  the  water  comes. 

You  have  often  seen  a fountain  playing.  How  beautifully  the 
stream  rises  and  spreads  out,  dropping  in  a shower  all  around! 
Now  why  is  it  that  the  water  rises  ? It  is  because  the  spring 
from  which  the  water  comes  is  so  much  higher  than  the  pipe  of 
the  fountain.  The  Avater  in  the  pipe  tries,  as  we  may  say,  to  get 
on  a level  with  the  water  in  the  spring.  This  I will  make  plain 


86 


WATER  ALWAYS  TRYING  TO  BE  LEVEL. 


The  playing  of  a fountain  explained. 


to  you  by  two  figures.  In  the  first  fig- 
ure you  see  represented  a vessel  of  wa- 
ter, with  a pipe  extending  from  its  low- 
er part  up  at  its  side.  The  water  stands 
at  the  same  level  in  the  pipe  that  it  does 
in  the  vessel,  as  in  the  case  of  the  coffee- 
pot. Now  suppose,  as  represented  in 
the  second  figure,  the  pipe  is  quite  short. 
If  the  vessel  be  filled  with  water,  the 
water  in  the  pipe,  seeking  to  get  to  the 
same  level  as  that  in  the  vessel,  will  be 
thrown  up  in  a stream,  as  you  see. 
The  reason  that  the  stream  spreads  out  and  drops  in  a shower  is, 
that  the  air  resists  the  stream,  and  so  divides  it  up,  because  water 
is  so  easily  separated  into  parts. 


Questions. — What  is  said  about  water  in  a bowl  ? What  is  said  about  the  parti- 
cles of  water  ? Give  the  comparison  about  shot.  Why  will  not  shot  run  as  easily 
as  water  from  one  vessel  into  another  ? What  is  said  about  the  smallness  of  the 
particles  of  water  ? How  do  we  know  that  they  are  round  or  smooth  ? If  we  could 
see  the  particles,  how  would  water  look  to  us  ? What  is  said  about  water’s  being  in 
motion  ? What  makes  it  run  ? Tell  about  water  in  a trough.  Give  the  compari- 
son about  a trough  and  a river.  What  is  said  about  the  power  of  running  water  P 
What  is  said  about  dams  ? Tell  about  the  level  of  water  in  a coffee-pot.  Tell  about 
the  man’s  contrivance  for  perpetual  motion.  What  is  said  about  the  pipes  of  an 
aqueduct  ? Why  will  water  sometimes  come  only  to  the  lower  story  of  a building, 
and  not  to  the  upper  ? Tell  about  the  playing  of  water  from  a fountain.  Why 
does  the  water  come  down  in  a shower  of  drops  ? 


THE  PRESSURE  OF  WATER. 


87 


The  pressure  of  the  particles  of  water  upon  each  other. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  PRESSURE  OF  WATER. 


Any  thing  that  is  solid  presses  only  one  way,  directly  down ; 
but  water  or  any  fluid  presses  ail  ways.  It  presses  just  as  much 
sidewise,  or  even  upward,  as  it  does  down.  The  reason  is,  that 
the- particles  of  water  move  about  among  each  other,  and  are  not 
fastened  tight  together  as  they  are  in  a solid.  "When  water  freezes, 
its  particles  become  all  fastened  together,  and  then  the  pressure  is 
all  downward. 


To  see  how  this  pressure  of  the  particles  of  wa- 
ter operates,  look  at  some  shot  lying  together.  One 
shot  does  not  lie  right  upon  another  shot  below  it 
in  this  way,  a , but  they  lie  in  this  way,  b.  You 
see  that  each  shot  presses  down  between  those  that 
are  underneath  it.  Each  shot  is  trying,  as  we  may 
say,  to  get  down  between  its  neighbors  below  ; and 
if  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  it,  it  would  press 
them  apart. 

You  can  see  that  this  is  so  by  trying  a little  experiment.  Put 
some  shot  close  together  on  a very  smooth  surface.  Now  put  an- 
other shot  on  top  of  them,  and  you  will  see  that  it  will  press  them 
all  apart.  If  the  shot  should  be  rough,  and  the  surface  on  which 
you  lay  them  should  be  rough  also,  your  experiment  will  not  suc- 
ceed, because  the  shot  will  not  roll  easily.  It  is  for  this  reason 


88 


THE  PRESSURE  OF  WATER. 


The  pile  of  balls. 


Particles  of  water  compared  with  shot. 


that  cannon  balls,  as 
you  see  them  piled 
up  in  an  ordnance^ 
yard,  as  represented 
in  the  annexed  fig- 
ure, do  not  roll  away. 
If  they  were  smooth, 
and  the  place  which 
they  were  piled  on 
were  smooth,  they 
would  all  be  pressed 
apart,  and  the  pile 


would  thus  be  spoiled. 

Now  see  what  this  sidewise  pressure  will  do  in  a vessel  filled 
with  shot  if  there  should  be  an  opening  made  in  the  side.  The 
shot  close  by  the  opening  will  run  out,  because  they  are  pressed 
sidewise  by  the  shot  lying  right  above  them  ; and  as  they  go  out, 
those  that  press  them  out  will  be  pressed  out  in  their  turn  by 
those  above  them,  and  so  on. 

Just  so  it  is  with  the  little  fine  balls  or  particles  of  water. 
They  lie  on  each  other  in  the  same  way  that  shot  do.  Each  par- 
ticle is  pressing  always  to  get  down  between  the  particles  that  are 
underneath  it,  as  I have  showed  you  it  is  with  the  shot.  And  if 
you  make  an  opening  in  the  vessel  that  holds  the  water,  its  parti- 
cles will  run,  or  rather  roll  out,  like  the  shot,  only  a great  deal 
easier,  because  they  are  so  smooth.  They  are  pushed  out  by  this 
pressing  down  of  each  particle  between  those  that  are  below  it. 


THE  PRESSURE  OF  WATER. 


89 


About  water  running  from  openings  in  different  parts  of  a vessel. 

If  you  make  an  opening  near  the  top  of  a vessel  filled  with  wa- 
ter, it  does  not  run  out  with  much  force ; but  if  the  opening  be 
made  near  the  bottom,  it  spouts  out  as  if  it  was  in  a great  hurry 
to  get  out  of  the  vessel.  What  is  the  reason  of  this  difference  ? 
To  understand  this,  observe  that  all  the  particles  are  pushing 
downward  in  the  way  that  I have  shown.  Those  particles,  there- 
fore, that  are  near  the  bottom,  have  a great  deal  more  pressure  on 
them  than  those  that  are  near  the  top ; so  that  when  the  opening 
is  made  near  the  bottom,  the  particles  there  are  pushed  out  with 
great  force.  There  is  a large  crowd  of  particles  pushing  down 
to  get  out  at  that  opening.  And  observe,  as  the  water  in  the  ves- 
sel lessens,  the  force  of  the  stream  from  the  opening  lessens ; it 
does  not  leap  out  so  straight  as  it  did  at  first.  It  is  very  much 
as  it  is  with  a crowd  pressing  through  a door.  When  the  crowd 
is  very  great,  those  that  are  pushed  through  the  door  are  pushed 
with  great  force  ; but  as  the  crowd  lessens,  the  pressure  lessens. 

It  is  found  that  water  runs  out  of  a vessel  from  an  opening  in 
the  side  close  to  the  bottom  just  as  quickly  as  it  does  from  an 
opening  of  the  same  size  in  the  bottom  itself.  What  is  the  rea- 
son of  this  ? It  is  because  the  little  round  particles  of  water  roll 
so  easily.  They  roll  out  just  as  easily  as  they  drop  out. 

See  the  difference  between  pressing  on  a fluid  and  on  a solid. 
If  you  press  on  a block  of  ice,  you  press  it  all  one  way.  If  you 
press  it  down,  you  press  it  all  down.  If  you  press  it  sidewise,  it 
all  moves  sidewise.  And  it  makes  no  difference  whether  your 
hand,  or  whatever  you  push  with,  covers  the  whole  side  of  the 
block  or  not.  But  it  is  not  so  with  water.  If  you  press  your 


90 


THE  PRESSURE  OF  WATER. 


Water  moving  in  a tube. 


Squirt-guns  and  stick-guns. 


hand  down  into  a vessel  of  water,  you  press  down  some  of  the  wa- 
ter, but  not  all  of  it.  Some  of  it  is  pressed  up ; for,  as  you  press 
down  what  is  right  under  your  hand,  this  pushes  what  is  below  it 
off  each  way  to  the  side,  and  this  pushes  up  the  water  that  is  over 
it.  This  is  because  the  round,  smooth  particles  roll  so  easily  on 
each  other.  When  pressure  is  made  upon  them,  they  roll  away 
from  it  just  where  they  can — downward,  or  sidewise,  or  upward. 

There  is  one  way  in  which  you  can  make  all  of  a body  of  wa- 
ter go  straight  along.  It  must  be  in  a tube,  so  that  it  can  not 
escape  sidewise,  and  then  there  must  be  something  to  fit  this  tube 
which  will  push  along  the  water.  It  must  fit  exactly,  or  some  of 
the  little  particles  will  slip  back  by  it. 

In  this  way  you  can  push  the  round  body  of  water  in  the  tube 
straight  along,  just  as  you  push  a round  stick  or  a long  icicle. 
But  suppose  that  there  is  a little  hole  in  the  tube.  This  would 
make  no  difference  if  the  water  were  ice,  because  the  particles  of  a 
solid  are  so  tightly  fastened  together ; but  the  pressed  liquid,  you 
know,  will  spout  out  of  the  hole,  because  the  particles,  not  being 
well  fastened  together,  will  escape  from  the  pressure  wherever  they 
can.  Open  a door  any  where,  and  out  they  will  leap. 

You  see  the  difference  between  a liquid  and  a solid  in  the  opera- 
tion of  a squirt-gun,  and  of  one  of  the  stick-guns  so  common 
among  children.  So  long  as  the  water  is  in  the  squirt-gun,  it  is 
all  pushed  along  together,  as  the  stick  is  in  the  stick-gun.  But 
as  soon  as  it  gets  out,  it  becomes  all  divided  up  by  the  air,  just  as 
you  saw  in  the  last  chapter  the  water  from  a fountain  does.  But 
the  stick,  as  it  flies  out  of  the  gun,  keeps  whole,  because  its  parti- 


THE  PRESSURE  OF  WATER. 


91 


The  gas  and  the  ball. 


Attraction  in  solids,  and  fluids,  and  gases. 


cles  are  well  fastened  together.  If  the  water  were  changed  into 
ice,  it  would  fly  out  whole  as  the  stick  does,  for  its  particles  would 
be  so  fastened  together  that  the  air  could  not  separate  them  as  it 
does  the  particles  of  water. 

The  difference  is  still  greater  between  solids  and  gases.  You 
see  this  in  the  firing  of  a gun  or  a cannon.  The  gas  into  which 
the  powder  changes  keeps  together  while  it  is  in  the  gun,  just  as 
the  water  does  in  the  squirt-gun ; but  as  soon  as  it  gets  out,  it 
spreads  like  the  water  when  it  gets  out  of  the  squirt-gun,  only  a 
great  deal  more.  This  is  because  the  particles  of  the  gas  are  dis- 
posed to  separate  instead  of  keeping  together.  They  have  no  at- 
traction for  each  other ; but  the  ball  which  the  gas  drives  out  of 
the  gun  leaves  the  gas  behind  it,  and  goes  on  whole,  because  its 
particles  are  so  well  fastened  together  by  attraction. 

You  see,  then,  that  in  a solid  there  is  considerable  attraction 
between  the  particles  ; in  a fluid  there  is  much  less  ; and  in  a gas 
there  is  none  at  all. 

Questions. — How  does  the  pressure  of  a fluid  differ  from  that  of  a solid  ? Give 
the  comparison  about  shot.  Relate  the  experiment  with  shot.  Tell  about  the  pile 
of  cannon  balls.  Give  the  comparison  about  shot  and  water  running  for  an  opening 
in  a vessel.  Why  does  water  run  faster  from  an  opening  near  the  bottom  of  a ves- 
sel than  from  an  opening  near  the  top?  Why  does  it  run  more  slowly  as  the  water 
in  the  vessel  lessens  ? Give  the  comparison  about  a crowd  going  through  a door. 
Why  does  water  run  out  from  an  opening  in  the  side  of  a vessel  close  to  the  bot- 
tom as  fast  as  from  a hole  in  the  bottom  itself?  What  is  the  difference  between 
pressing  on  a solid  and  pressing  on  a fluid?  How  can  you  make  a fluid  all  go  one 
way  in  pressing  it?  What  will  happen  if  there  be  a hole  in  the  tube?  Tell  about 
the  squirt-gun  and  the  stick-gun.  Tell  about  the  ball  and  the  gas  in  a common  gun. 
Tell  about  attraction  in  solids,  and  fluids,  and  gases. 


92 


ATTRACTION  IN  SOLIDS  AND  FLUIDS. 


Attraction  of  the  particles  of  solids  illustrated. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ATTRACTION  IN  SOLIDS  AND  FLUIDS. 

You  saw  by  wliat  I told  you  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  chap- 
ter that  the  great  difference  between  a solid  and  a fluid  is  that  the 
particles  of  a solid  are  fastened  tightly  together,  while  those  of  a 
fluid  are  not.  If  you  should  tie  some  people  tightly  together  so 
that  they  could  not  move  away  from  each  other  at  all,  they  would 
be  like  the  particles  of  a solid.  If  you  moved  them,  you  would 
move  them  all  together  as  you  do  a stick  of  wood,  a lump  of  ice,  or 
any  thing  else  that  is  solid.  You  can  not  move  them,  one  one 
way,  and  another  another  way,  as  you  can  the  particles  of  water ; 
but  if  they  are  all  pretty  close  together,  and  yet  can  move  about 
among  each  other,  as  you  often  see  in  a crowded  company,  they 
are  like  the  particles  of  a fluid.  You  can  make  your  way  among 
them  just  as  you  do  among  the  particles  of  water  when  you  wade. 

But  you  will  ask,  Are  the  particles  of  a solid  really  tied  togeth- 
er in  any  way  ? No  ; but  there  is  something  that  does  the  same 
thing  to  them  as  tying  together  would.  It  makes  them  stick  to- 
gether very  tight.  We  know  not  what  it  is,  but  we  call  it  attrac- 
tion. We  say  that  the  particles  of  a solid  attract  each  other  very 
much.  This  is  really  just  what  a child  would  mean  by  saying 
that  they  stick  together  very  close  or  very  tight.  Why  they 
thus  attract  each  other,  or  how  they  do  it,  no  one  has  ever  yet 
found  out. 


ATTRACTION  IN  SOLIDS  AND  FLUIDS. 


93 


Experiment  with  India-rubber  and  with  bullets.  Drops  of  water. 

It  seems  to  be  necessary  that  the  particles  should  be  very  near 
together  to  attract  each  other  as  hard  as  they  do  in  a solid.  If  a 
solid  is  divided  in  any  way,  you  know  that  you  can  not  make  the 
two  parts  stick  close  together  again.  The  reason  is  that  you  can 
not  bring  the  particles  near  enough  to  each  other  to.  hold  together. 
This  is  commonly  so,  but  not  always.  If  you  divide  a piece  of 
India-rubber,  making  a smooth  cut  with  a very  sharp  knife,  you 
can  press  the  two  parts  together  so  as  to  make  them  adhere. 
Boys  often  try  the  following  experiment : A piece  is  cut  off  from 
two  bullets,  and  each  cut  place  is  scraped  as  smooth  as  it  can  be. 
The  two  bullets  are  then  pressed  together  at  these  smooth  sur- 
faces, and  they  adhere  so  well  that  it  takes  considerable  pulling  to 
get  them  apart.  Here  enough  of  the  particles  on  the  surfaces  are 
brought  near  enough  together  to  hold  on  to  each  other,  or  to  at- 
tract each  other,  as  it  is  commonly  expressed. 

The  particles  of  solids,  then,  attract  each  other  very  much,  and 
it  is  this  attraction  that  makes  them  solid.  But  how  is  it  with 
the  particles  of  liquids?  Do  they  not  attract  each  other?  See 
that  drop  of  water  on  a window.  Why  is  it  in  the  shape  of  a 
drop  ? If  the  particles  of  water  did  not  attract  each  other  they 
would  be  spread  out  on  the  glass.  They  would  not  be  in  the 
shape  of  a drop.  They  do  not  attract  each  other  very  much,  but 
enough  to  keep  them  together  in  that  shape. 

But  you  can  spoil  that  drop  very  easily.  Put  your  finger  on 
it,  and  it  is  gone.  It  is  all  spread  out  now,  partly  on  your  finger 
and  partly  on  the  glass.  Why  is  this?  It  is  because  the  parti- 
cles attract  each  other  so  little  that  they  are  easily  separated. 


ATTRACTION  IN  SOLIDS  AND  FLUIDS. 


94 


Drops  of  water  and  shot  compared.  Quicksilver. 


Put  your  finger  on  a shot,  and  it  remains  shot  still.  Why  is 
it  not  gone  like  the  round  drop  of  water  ? Because  its  particles 
attract  each  other  so  much  that  they  are  not  easily  separated.  A 
mere  touch  will  separate  the  particles  of  the  drop  of  water,  and 
make  them  roll  about  any  way ; but  you  can  not  do  this  to  the 
shot  without  heating  it  very  hot.  You  can  melt  it,  and  then  it 
will  be,  like  the  water,  a liquid.  Its  particles  now  attract  each 
other  but  little,  just  as  the  particles  of  water  do.  And  then, 
again,  you  can  freeze  the  water,  and  its  particles  attract  each  oth- 
er like  the  particles  of  the  solid  shot. 

In  some  fluids  the  particles  attract  each  other  more  strongly 
than  they  do  in  others.  And  the  more  they  attract  each  other,  the 
better  they  keep  their  drop  shape.  Pour  a very  little  quicksilver 
on  a flat  surface.  See  the  round  drops  of  it  roll  about ! How 
well  they  keep  their  shape  ! If  you  touch  them  you  do  not  spoil 
them,  as  you  do  a drop  of  water  wdien  you  touch  it.  If  you  break 
one  as  you  touch  it,  its  parts  make  only  so  many  little  drops  or 
balls.  Why  is  this  ? It  is  because  the  particles  of  the  quick- 
silver attract  each  other  so  much  more  than  the  particles  of  water 
do.  They  are  so  attractive  to  each  other  that  they  are  disposed 
to  keep  together  in  little  companies. 

You  sometimes  see  drops  of  water  on  the  leaves  of  plants  more 
round  and  separate  than  you  see  them  on  window-panes.  They 
roll  about  like  the  little  balls  of  quicksilver.  See  the  reason  of 
this.  The  particles  of  the  drop  like  each  other,  as  we  may  say, 
better  than  they  do  the  leaf.  They  are  more  ready  to  stick  to- 
gether than  they  are  to  stick  to  the  leaf,  and  so  they  roll  about  on 


ATTRACTION  IN  SOLIDS  AND  FLUIDS. 


95 


Drops  on  leaves. 


Oil  on  water. 


How  shot  are  made. 


it  like  little  balls.  As  you  see  the  drops  on  the  glass,  they  are 
not  round,  because  the  particles  on  one  side  stick  to  the  glass — 
that  is,  they  are  attracted  by  it ; but  the  leaf  does  not  attract  the 
particles  so  much  as  the  glass  does,  for  it  lets  them  keep  together 
in  a round  form.  There  is  a difference  between  different  leaves 
about  this.  On  some,  the  drops  of  Water  act  as  they  do  on  the 
window-pane,  and  on  others  they  do  as  I have  just  told  you ; and 
then,  on  the  same  leaves,  the  drops  act  differently  at  different 
times. 

If  you  pour  a little  oil  on  water,  you  see  the  oil  floating  in  drops. 
This  is  for  the  same  reason  that  water  stands  in  round  drops  on 
some  leaves.  The  water  has  no  attraction  for  the  oil,  and  so  the 
particles  of  the  oil  hold  together  in  little  companies  on  the  surface 
of  the  water.  It  is  different  when  oil  is  spilled  upon  cloth  or 
wood.  It  has  so  much  attraction  for  them  that  it  mingles  up  with 
their  fibres,  instead  of  forming  into  round  companies  as  it  does  on 
the  water. 

Whenever  there  is  a little  of  any  liquid  by  itself,  it  tends  to 
take  a round  shape,  as  seen  in  the  quicksilver,  and  in  the  drops  of 
water  on  windows  and  leaves.  We  see  a pretty  example  of  this 
in  the  manufacture  of  shot.  Perhaps  you  have  seen  a shot  tower. 
It  is  very  high.  All  the  shot  that  are  made  drop  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom.  At  the  top  they  have  the  melted  lead.  They  pour 
it  into  a sort  of  cullender — that  is,  a vessel  with  holes  in  it.  These 
holes  are  quite  small.  From  each  one  of  these  holes  come  out, 
one  after  another,  drops  of  the  melted  lead.  Each  drop  is  round. 
It  cools  as  it  goes  down  all  this  long  distance  in  the  air,  and  by 


96 


ATTRACTION  IN  SOLIDS  AND  FLUIDS. 


How  shot  are  round. 


Bullets. 


Making  soap-bubbles  roll. 


the  time  that  it  gets  to  the  "bottom  of  the  tower,  it  is  cold  and  sol- 
id. The  shot  all  fall  into  a tub  of  water,  so  that  they  may  keep 
their  round  shape. 

Now  why  is  it  that  the  shot  are  round  ? Simply  because  when 
they  begin  to  fall  they  are  melted  lead — that  is,  a fluid.  Their 
particles  are  disposed,  therefore,  to  hold  together  in  a round  form, 
like  the  particles  of  quicksilver,  or  of  a drop  of  water. 

Bullets  are  made  by  pouring  the  melted  lead  into  moulds. 
Think,  now,  why  they  can  not  be  made  in  the  same  way  that  shot 
are.  The  reason  is  that  there  are  more  particles  in  a bullet  than 
can  hold  together  in  a round  shape  while  the  lead  is  fluid.  You 
can  not  have  very  large  drops  of  any  fluid.  The  particles  will 
hold  together  only  in  small  companies. 

There  is  one  thing  that  you  can  do  with  soap-bubbles  which 
perhaps  you  have  never  thought  of.  You  can  make  them  roll  on 
a table  or  on  the  floor  by  blowing  them  along.  The  reason  is  that 
the  particles  of  soap  and  water  mixed  together  hold  on  to  each 
other,  or  attract  each  other,  better  than  the  particles  of  water  alone. 

Questions. — What  is  the  great  difference  between  a solid  and  a fluid  ? Give  the 
comparison  about  a crowd.  Do  we  know  what  it  is  that  fastens  the  particles  of  a 
solid  together?  What  is  it  called?  What  is  said  about  the  particles  being  near 
together  ? Tell  about  the  experiment  with  the  India-rubber  and  the  lead.  How 
do  liquids  differ  from  solids  in  attraction  ? Why  is  water  on  a pane  of  glass  often 
in  drops  ? Why  is  it  that  you  can  spoil  a drop  by  a touch  ? Tell  how  a shot  differs 
from  a drop  of  water.  Is  the  attraction  between  the  particles  alike  in  all  fluids? 
Tell  about  the  quicksilver.  Tell  about  the  drops  of  water  on  leaves.  Tell  about 
oil  dropped  upon  water.  How  is  it  with  oil  spilled  upon  cloth  or  wood  ? Describe 
shot-making.  Why  are  the  shot  #ound  ? How  are  bullets  made  ? Why  can  not 
they  be  made  in  the  same  way  that  shot  are  ? What  is  said  about  soap-bubbles  ? 


WATER  IN  THE  AIR. 


97 


From  what  water  goes  up  into  the  air. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

WATER  IN  THE  AIR. 

I have  told  you  how  water  is  in  motion  whenever  it  can  be. 
It  runs  whenever  it  can  get  a chance  to  do  it ; but  it  is  in  motion 
in  another  way,  which  I will  now  tell  you  about. 

You  hang  out  a wet  cloth  to  dry.  When  it  is  dry,  what  has 
become  of  the  water  that  was  in  it?  It  has  gone  somewhere. 
Where  has  it  gone  ? It  has  flown,  like  the  birds,  into  the  air ; 
but  it  has  gone  so  quietly  that  nobody  has  seen  it  go.  The  lit- 
tle fine  particles  of  the  water  that  I have  told  you  about  have 
mixed  up  with  the  air,  and  are  blown  about  with  it  every  where. 
And  so,  when  you  write,  as  the  ink  dries  on  the  paper,  the  water 
in  it  flies  off  into  the  air,  leaving  the  dark  part  of  the  ink  behind. 

There  is  a great  deal  of  water  that  is  going  up  into  the  air  in 
this  way  all  the  time.  It  goes  up  from  every  thing  that  is  wet. 
After  a shower,  the  ground,  the  stones,  the  houses,  the  trees,  and 
plants  are  all  very  wet,  but  in  a little  time  they  are  dry  again. 
Most  of  the  water  on  them  has  gone  up  in  the  air,  and  is  mingled 
up  with  it.  It  has  mingled  with  it  in  such  a way  that  you  can 
not  see  it.  The  air  is  generally  as  clear  with  all  this  water  in  it 
as  it  is  when  it  is  perfectly  dry.  Even  in  a bright,  clear  day, 
there  is  a great  deal  of  water  mixed  up  with  the  air. 

But  water  goes  up  into  the  air  not  merely  from  things  that  ap- 
pear wet.  You  remember  that,  in  Part  First,  I told  you  that  wa- 
3 Gr 


98 


WATER  IN  THE  AIR. 


Experiment  with  the  arm  and  a glass  jar.  Water  in  the  breath. 

ter  is  all  the  time  going  out  from  the  pores  of  the  leaves.  A great 
deal  of  water  is  furnished  to  the  air  in  this  way. 

Then  there  is  water  going  up  from  the  skins  of  animals.  Much 
water  goes  from  your  skin  into  the  air  constantly,  even  when  you 
can  not  see  that  you  are  perspiring.  You  can  prove  this  by  put- 
ting your  arm  into  a glass  jar,  and  holding  it  there  some  time. 
The  inside  of  the  jar  will  become  covered  with  the  water  that 
comes  from  the  pores  of  the  skin  on  your  arm.  This  is  like  the 
experiment  with  leaves  noticed  on  page  77  of  Part  First. 

There  is  water,  too,  coming  out  from  the  lungs  of  animals  and 
mixing  with  the  air.  It  comes  from  their  lungs  just  as  it  does  from 
the  leaves,  which  you  know  are  the  lungs  of  plants.  You  can  see 
this  if  you  breathe  upon  a cold  window.  The  moisture  or  water  that 
is  breathed  out  with  the  air  from  the  lungs  gathers  upon  the  glass. 
In  the  morning  you  often  see  the  panes  of  the  windows  in  your 
chamber  very  wet.  All  this  water  has  come  from  your  lungs  as 
you  have  slept.  In  a very  cold  day  the  water  in  your  breath 
freezes  upon  whatever  is  about  your  mouth.  You  see  the  water 
of  the  breath  of  a horse  frozen  on  the  hairs  about  his  mouth. 

So  you  see  water  is  going  up  into  the  air  all  the  time  from  the 
ground,  the  leaves,  the  animals,  and  indeed  from  every  thing  that 
is  at  all  moist.  It  goes  up  also  in  great  quantities  from  seas,  riv- 
ers, lakes,  etc.  Water,  then,  is  always  moving.  It  runs  and  it 
flies.  It  flies  up  into  the  air,  and  comes  down  again  in  the  rain 
to  run  in  the  streams.  It  is  ever  going  its  rounds,  going  up  and 
coming  down,  and  none  of  it  ever  stays  long  in  one  place.  The 
only  way  in  which  it  can  be  made  to  keep  still  is  to  shut  it  up. 


WATER  IN  THE  AIR. 


99 


Water  in  the  air  seen  in  fog.  A beautiful  scene. 

Let  it  be  free,  and  it  will  soon  be  gone,  either  by  running  or  fly- 
ing. 

Commonly  the  water  in  the  air  is  not  seen,  as  I have  before 
told  you  ; but  sometimes  you  can  see  it.  You  see  it  in  the  breath 
in  a very  cold  day.  The  cold  air  makes  it  look  like  smoke  com- 
ing out  of  the  mouth.  You  see  it,  too,  in  the  fog.  When  there 
is  a fog  there  is  a great  deal  of  water  in  the  air.  The  reason  that 
you  can  see  it  is  that  the  particles  of  water  are  not  as  finely  di- 
vided up  as  when  the  air  is  clear.  They  are  in  little  companies, 
as  we  may  say,  but  there  are  not  enough  of  them  together  to  make 
drops.  If  they  were  in  companies  large  enough  to  make  drops, 
they  would  fall  to  the  ground — that  is,  we  should  have  a rain. 

Sometimes  the  fog  is  every  where ; sometimes  it  hangs  only 
just  over  the  water.  If  you  are  on  a very  high  hill,  where  you 
can  look  off  and  see  a river  in  the  distance,  you  can  sometimes  see 
in  the  morning  a line  of  fog  stretching  along  where  the  river  is, 
while  it  is  nowhere  else.  I once  saw  a very  singular  and  beauti- 
ful scene  made  by  the  fog.  I had  been  out  on  horseback  in  the 
night  to  visit  a sick  person.  As  I returned,  just  before  sunrise,  I 
saw  from  a very  high  hill  a thick  fog  over  all  the  river  below. 
From  the  river  arose  high  hills,  irregular  in  their  shape,  and  on 
the 'sides  of  these  hills  were  houses  at  different  heights.  The 
lower  houses  were  all  so  covered  by  this  dense  fog  that  I could 
not  see  them,  while  those  that  stood  high  up  on  the  hills  I could 
see  as  plainly  as  ever.  It  looked  as  if  a sea  had  come  in  while 
I was  gone  on  my  visit,  and  had  filled  up  the  valley  where  the 
river  ran,  for  the  fog  rose  to  the  same  height  on  the  sides  of  all 


100 


WATER  IN  THE  AIR. 


Dense  fogs  often  hanging  over  large  cities. 


the  hills.  Many  of  the  houses  stood  upon  the  very  edge  of  this 
sea.  The  scene  was  so  beautiful  that  I waited  to  see  the  sun 
rise  upon  it.  As  it  rose,  it  shone  over  the  tops  of  the  hills,  and 
lighted  up  this  sea  of  fog,  which  it  in  a little  time  scattered  by 
its  heat. 

Very  thick  fogs  often  hang  over  large  cities,  while  all  around  in 
the  country  the  air  may  be  perfectly  clear.  London  is  often  cov- 
ered with  such  a fog.  Sometimes  it  has  been  so  dense  that  peo- 
ple could  not  see  to  do  any  business.  It  is  related  that  the  fog 
over  the  city  of  Paris  was  once  so  thick  that  persons  who  went 
about  with  torches  often  ran  against  each  other,  because  even  lights 
could  not  be  seen  unless  they  were  very  near.  And  in  Amster- 
dam, in  a fog  in  the  year  1790,  there  were  over  two  hundred  per- 
sons drowned  by  falling  in  the  darkness  into  the  canals  which 
run  through  every  part  of  that  singular  city. 

Questions . — What  becomes  of  the  water  when  a cloth  is  dried?  Tell  about  the 
drying  of  ink  on  the  paper.  Tell  about  water’s  going  up  in  the  air  after  a shower. 
Can  you  commonly  see  the  water  that  is  in  the  air?  Does  water  go  into  the  air 
from  things  that  do  not  appear  wet  ? What  is  said  about  its  going  from  the  skins 
of  animals?  Tell  about  the  experiment  with  the  glass  jar.  What  is  said  about 
water’s  being  breathed  out  from  the  lungs  ? In  what  ways  do  you  see  this  shown  ? 
What  is  said  about  water’s  being  in  constant  motion?  When  there  is  a fog,  why 
is  it  that  you  see  the  water  that  is  in  the  air  ? Tell  what  is  said  about  fogs.  Tell 
about  the  fogs  that  hang  over  large  cities. 


CLOUDS. 


101 


Clouds  made  of  fog.  Mists.  How  the  rain  is  made  to  come  from  clouds. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CLOUDS. 

You  see  water  in  the  air  in  another  shape  besides  fog.  You 
see  it  in  the  clouds.  A cloud  is  really  fog,  but  it  is  high  up  in 
tne  air,  while  what  we  commonly  call  fog  is  near  the  ground. 

Sometimes  rain  comes  from  the  clouds,  and  sometimes  they  give 
out  no  rain.  Why  is  this  ? When  the  clouds  do  not  rain,  the 
water  in  them  keeps  in  the  state  of  fog.  The  particles  are  all  in 
small  companies ; but  when  the  rain  comes  from  the  clouds,  it  is 
because  the  cold  air  makes  the  particles  gather  into  larger  compa- 
nies, so  as  to  form  drops.  Then  they  fall.  A mist  is  different 
from  rain  in  this  way — the  companies  of  particles  are  not  as  large 
as  in  rain.  On  the  other  hand,  they  are  larger  than  they  are  in 
fogs  or  in  clouds. 

You  remember  what  I have  told  you  about  the  gathering  of 
water  upon  the  tumblers  in  warm  weather.  It  is  the  coldness  of 
the  tumbler  that  does  this.  It  gathers,  or  condenses , as  we  com- 
monly say,  the  water  in  the  air  into  companies  or  drops  on  the 
tumbler,  just  as  cold  air  coming  upon  a cloud  condenses  the  wTater 
into  drops  that  fall  to  the  earth  in  rain. 

How  swiftly  these  collections  of  water,  the  clouds,  are  some- 
times carried  along  by  the  wind ! It  seems  as  if  they  were  chas- 
ing each  other  across  the  sky. 

How  different  are  the  shapes  of  the  clouds ! Sometimes  they 


102 


CLOUDS. 


Shapes  of  clouds.  Tlieir  beauty.  Clouds  about  mountains. 

lie  along,  stretched  out  like  long  straight  stripes ; and  sometimes 
they  are  in  heaps,  piled  up  one  above  another.  Then,  again,  they 
are  spread  like  feathers.  It  seems  strange  that  fog  high  up  in 
the  air  should  collect  into  such  different  forms,  when  near  the 
ground  it  always  appears  very  much  the  same. 

At  morning  and  evening  the  clouds  are  often  very  beautiful. 
How  do  you  think  that  the  rich  bright  colors  are  made  ? They 
are  made  by  the  sun  shining  upon  the  little  companies  of  water- 
particles  of  which  the  clouds  are  made.  I will  tell  you  more 
about  this  when  I come  to  speak  of  Light. 

The  clouds  are  not  so  high  up  in  the  air  as  most  people  think 
they  are.  Some  clouds  are  higher  than  others,  because  they  are 
lighter ; and  sometimes  you  can  see  the  clouds  that  are  very  high 
up  going  in  a different  direction  from  those  that  are  nearer  to  the 
earth.  This  is  because  there  are  often  currents  of  air  very  high 
up  that  do  not  go  the  same  way  with  the  winds  below.  Persons 
that  go  up  in  balloons  have  found  this  to  be  so,  as  I have  before 
told  you. 

Clouds  are  often  seen  about  the  sides  of  high  mountains  while 
the  sun  is  shining  upon  their  tops ; and  persons  that  are  on  the 
top  of  a mountain  may  sometimes  see  clouds  below  them,  while 
the  sky  is  clear  overhead.  I was  once  on  the  top  of  Catskill 
Mountain  when  a shower  passed  over.  The  cloud,  after  it  had 
passed  over  the  mountain,  spread  over  the  country  below,  so  that 
I looked  down  upon  it.  As  the  cloud  was  rather  a thin  one,  it 
was  broken  into  parts.  The  sun,  therefore,  shone  through  the 
openings  here  and  there  ; and  I remember  seeing  through  one 


CLOUDS. 


103 


What  goes  up  from  the  earth  to  make  clouds. 


Water  a great  traveler. 


opening  in  the  cloud  a beautiful  spot,  where  there  was  a farm- 
house and  a pond  near  by,  lighted  up  by  the  bright  sun  shining 
through  another  opening. 

It  is  the  water  that  goes  up  from  the  earth  into  the  air  that 
makes  the  clouds.  I have  told  you  from  what  a variety  of  things 
this  water  comes.  Even  the  perspiration  from  your  skin  and  the 
moisture  that  is  breathed  out  from  your  lungs  often  help  to  form 
the  clouds  that  you  see  floating  so  high  in  the  air. 

As  I have  told  you  before,  water  is  ever  changing,  ever  moving. 
It  is  silently  going  up  into  the  air  from  almost  every  thing  on  the 
earth.  Then  you  see  some  of  it  moving  along  in  the  clouds.  It 
falls  down  in  the  rain.  It  runs  in  the  brooks  and  the  rivers.  In 
the  sea  it  is  lashed  into  waves  by  the  wind,  and  is  so  continually 
in  motion  there  that  the  restless  sea  is  a common  expression. 
Water  is  always  going  somewhere.  Even  in  places  where  it 
seems  to  be  still,  it  is  not  so ; even  there,  some  of  it  is  all  the 
time  going  up  into  the  air,  and  other  water  comes  to  take  the 
place  of  that  which  goes  up. 

Water  is  a great  traveler.  If  any  particle  of  water  could  write 
its  own  history,  and  tell  where  it  had  been  ever  since  it  was  cre- 
ated, what  a varied  history  it  would  be ! Now  it  is  tossed  in  the 
waves ; now  it  is  flying  off  in  the  air  on  the  wings  of  the  wind ; 
now  it  is  in  a cloud ; now  it  falls  in  a drop  from  high  up  in  the 
air;  now  it  sinks  into  the  ground,  and  is  sucked  up  by  some 
plant ; and  now,  perhaps,  from  the  plant,  eaten  by  some  animal,  it 
goes  into  the  blood  of  that  animal.  Thus  it  goes  every  where 
and  in  all  sorts  of  company.  Clean  as  is  the  draught  of  water 


104 


CLOUDS. 


Water  goes  up  in  the  air  in  various  ways,  and  comes  down  in  different  forms. 

that  so  refreshes  you,  it  is  made  up  of  particles  that  have  heen  in 
company  with  all  sorts  of  things,  clean  and  unclean,  in  all  parts 
of  the  earth. 

Observe  in  what  very  different  ways  the  water  takes  its  start 
to  go  off  up  into  the  air.  Much  of  it  goes  up  from  the  ground, 
and  from  the  surface  of  lands,  and  lakes,  and  seas,  and  rivers  ; but 
a great  deal  also  is  sucked  up  from  the  ground  by  the  roots  of 
trees  and  plants,  and  travels  up  to  the  leaves  to  take  its  flight  into 
the  air  from  them.  And  then,  too,  animals  drink  water,  and  eat 
it  in  their  food,  and  some  of  this  flies  off  into  the  air  from  their 
skins  and  lungs. 

The  water  that  goes  up  in  these  different  ways  has  also  differ- 
ent ways  of  getting  down  upon  the  earth  again.  That  which  is 
high  up  in  the  form  of  clouds  comes  down  in  different  shapes. 
When  cold  air  meets  the  clouds,  and  changes  the  water  so  finely 
divided  in  them  into  drops,  it  falls  in  rain.  When  the  air  is  cold 
enough  to  freeze  it,  it  falls  in  the  shape  of  snow  or  hail. 

Questions. — What  is  a cloud  ? Why  does  it  not  always  rain  when  it  is  cloudy  ? 
What  is  the  difference  between  mist  and  rain?  Give  the  comparison  between  the 
rain  and  the  gathering  of  water  on  a tumbler.  What  is  said  about  the  shapes 
of  clouds  ? What  about  their  colors  at  morning  and  evening  ? What  is  said  about 
the  heights  of  clouds  ? What  about  clouds  around  mountains  ? Tell  about  the 
shower  on  the  Catskill  Mountain.  What  is  said  about  the  moisture  from  your  skin 
and  lungs  ? Tell  how  the  water  is  always  moving  and  changing.  What  is  said 
about  water  as  a traveler  ? Tell  in  what  different  ways  the  water  goes  up  in  the 
air.  In  what  different  ways  does  it  come  down,  and  why  ? 


SNOW,  FKOST,  AND  ICE. 


105 


The  different  forms  of  the  crystals  of  snow. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

SNOW,  FROST,  AND  ICE. 

How  different  snow  is  from  water ! How  white  it  is  as  it  lies 
upon  the  earth  like  a winding-sheet,  covering  up  the  dead  leaves 
and  plants  ! How  the  wind  that  makes  waves  in  the  water  heaps 
up  the  snow  in  drifts ! The  water  slips  from  your  hand  as  you 
grasp  it,  but  the  snow  you  can  make  into  hard  balls,  or  roll  it  up 
on  the  ground  into  larger  ones  to  build  snow  forts.  The  snow  lies 
quietly  on  the  sides  of  hills  and  mountains,  from  which,  the  mo- 
ment that  it  melts,  it  runs  down  into  the  valley  below. 

But,  different  as  the  snow  is  from  water,  it  is  nothing  but  frozen 
water.  It  is  water  made  solid  ; and,  as  the  water  becomes  solid 
up  in  the  air  before  it  falls,  it  forms  itself  into  many  different 
shapes.  The  snow  seems  to  be  all  alike  as  you  look  at  it  as  it 

falls.  But  it  is  not 
so.  There  is  varie- 
ty even  here.  The 
snow-flakes  have  va- 
rious forms.  We 
can  see  how  differ- 
ent their  shapes  are 
if  we  look  at  them 
with  a microscope,  as 
they  are  here  repre- 
sented. 


106 


SNOW,  FROST,  AND  ICE. 


Snow-flakes  clusters  of  crystals.  The  power  of  God  seen  in  them. 

Snow-flakes  are  beautiful  tilings  to  look  at  even  with  the  naked 
eye.  How  light,  and  delicate,  and  feathery  they  are ! When 
they  are  very  large  and  the  air  is  still,  how  slowly  and  steadily 
they  fall ! Let  a few  of  them  light  upon  your  coat  sleeve,  where 
you  can  look  at  them,  and  you  will  admire  their  beauty ; and  when 
we  look  at  them  through  a microscope,  we  see  that  there  is  not 
only  beauty,  but  a great  variety  of  beauty  in  them,  as  there  is  in 
all  the  other  works  of  God. 

Perhaps  you  have  sometimes  seen  large  crystals  of  quartz  or 
other  minerals,  and  you  have  admired  them  because  they  are  so 
smooth,  and  regular,  and  clear.  Now  every  snow-flake  is  a bun- 
dle of  little  crystals  as  regular  and  beautiful  as  the  crystals  of 
quartz.  There  are  millions  of  these  crystals  in  the  snow  that  you 
take  up  in  your  hand,  and  in  the  falling  snow  they  are  put  togeth- 
er in  all  the  varied  forms  that  you  see  in  the  figures  above.  As 
I told  you  about  the  leaves  and  the  flowers  in  Part  First,  so  we 
see,  when  we  examine  the  snow-flakes,  the  more  we  look  into  the 
works  of  God,  the  more  beauty  we  shall  find  in  them. 

How  easy  it  is  for  God  to  fill  the  air  with  falling  crystals,  and 
to  pile  them  up  thick  on  the  ground ! With  a free  hand  he  thus 
scatters  beautiful  things  in  the  desolate  winter  as  well  as  in  the 
blooming  summer,  and  his  power  is  as  much  seen  in  the  pure  crys- 
tals of  the  snow-flake  as  in  the  delicate  and  beautiful  structures 
of  the  leaf  and  the  flower. 

How  beautiful  is  the  scene  when  the  snow  has  fallen  gently 
without  wind,  and  has  covered  the  branches  of  trees  and  bushes ! 
Look  up  into  a tree  thus  covered.  There  the  crystals  lie,  piled 


SNOW,  FROST,  AND  ICE. 


107 


Variety  in  the  figures  of  frost-work. 


up,  like  tufts  of  cotton,  out  to  the  very  tips  of  all  the  branches. 
Millions  and  millions  of  them  are  on  every  twig.  How  many 
must  there  be  on  the  whole  tree ! And  how  many  on  all  the  trees 
and  bushes,  and  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  ground ! 

How  easily  now  can  God  destroy  all  these  crystals ! He  can 
send  a warm  sun,  the  wind,  or  a rain,  and  they  are  dissolved  and 
changed  into  water  again.  The  earth’s  winter  robe,  all  made  of 
pure  white  gems,  is  gone.  But  God  can,  whenever  he  will,  turn 
the  clouds  above  us  again  into  crystals,  and  strew  the  earth  with 
them  as  before. 

The  great  variety  of  forms  which  water  takes  when  it  becomes 
solid  is  often  seen  on  our  windows  in  winter.  The  figures  of  the 
frost-work  on  them  are,  you  know,  almost  endless  in  their  variety. 
These  figures  are  made  up  of  little  fine  crystals,  and  these  crys- 
tals are  made  out  of  the  water  as  the  cold  turns  it  from  a fluid  into 
a solid.  How  it  is  that  the  little  particles  of  water  arrange  them- 
selves in  these  clusters  of  crystals,  branching  out  on  the  glass  in 
all  sorts  of  shapes,  we  do  not  know.  God  makes  them  do  so  in 
a way  that  we  can  not  understand.  How  little  do  most  people 
think  of  the  wonderful  things  he  is  doing  before  them  continually f. 
If  they  are  told  that  God,  with  his  cold,  makes  the  moisture  from 
their  breath  into  beautiful  crystals,  they  can  hardly  believe  it,  and 
yet  they  have  seen  these  crystals  in  the  delicate  frostwork  on  their 
windows  winter  after  winter  all  their  lives. 

The  figures  of  this  crystal  frostwork  are  often  like  leaves  and 
flowers,  such  as  we  sometimes  see  on  vessels  of  silver,  only  much 
more  delicate  and  beautiful.  It  is  as  if  God  would  smile  on  us  in 


108 


SNOW,  FROST,  AND  ICE. 


Why  ice  is  made  lighter  than  water. 


the  very  frosts  of  winter  as  he  does  in  the  flowers  of  summer;  In 
these  figures,  made  of  the  clustered  crystals  of  the  water  from  our 
breath,  lie  teaches  us,  just  as  he  does  in  the  flowers,  that  he  loves 
to  make  things  beautiful  for  us  to  enjoy  looking  upon  them. 

The  ice,  often  so  very  thick,  is  all  crystal.  And  how  beautiful 
it  is  when  it  is  formed  from  clear  water  in  a still  place ! There  is 
one  thing  very  singular  about  ice  which  I must  mention.  You 
know  that  it  is  lighter  than  water,  for  it  swims  on  the  top  of  it  in- 
stead of  sinking  in  it.  This  is  rather  strange.  One  would  sup- 
pose that  when  the  fluid  water  changed  into  a solid,  it  would  be 
heavier,  because  the  particles  stick  tighter  together  then  ; but 
somehow,  although  they  stick  together  much  more  tightly,  they  are 
farther  apart  than  they  were  before.  It  is  this  that  makes  the  ice 
lighter.  If  they  were  closer  together,  of  course  it  would  be  heavier. 

We  do  not  understand  how  God  has  made  this  to  be  so,  but  we 
can  understand  what  reason  he  had  for  it.  It  would  be  very  bad 
to  have  ice  heavier  than  water.  If  it  were  heavier,  there  would  be 
a great  deal  of  ice  on  the  bottom  of  our  rivers,  and  ponds,  and 
lakes  in  the  winter.  Then  it  would  take  a long  time  for  the  wTarm 
weather  to  melt  this  covered-up  ice,  and  in  some  places  it  would 
not  all  be  melted  before  another  winter  came.  This  would  make 
bad  work,  and  every  year  it  would  become  worse,  for  there  would 
be  additions  from  year  to  year  to  the  ice  that  is  not  melted.  As 
it  is  now,  the  ice  is  all  cleared  out  of  the  way  in  most  parts  of  the 
world  in  the  early  spring,  because  the  sun  and  the  warm  rains  get 
at  it,  and  thus  the  earth  becomes  ready  in  a very  short  time  for 
the  summer. 


SNOW,  FROST,  AND  ICE. 


109 


Regions  of  perpetual  ice  and  snow. 


With  us  the  ice  and  the  snow  bear  rule  but  a part  of  the  year, 
but  there  are  regions  in  the  far  north  where  they  are  always  pres- 
ent, No  summer  comes  there  to  melt  them.  You  have  heard  of 
the  icebergs  in  the  seas  of  those  regions.  These  piles  of  ice  often 
rise  like  mountains,  and  many  a noble  ship  has  been  crushed  by 
them. 

There  are  mountains,  too,  in  some  parts  of  the  world  so  high 
that  winter  ever  rules  on  their  summits.  The  ice  and  the  snow 
are  ever  there  glistening  in  the  sun,  even  while  in  the  valleys  be- 
low the  golden  harvests  are  ripening  in  all  their  beauty. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  the  difference  between  snow  and  water  ? What 
is  snow  ? Is  the  snow  all  alike  ? What  is  said  about  the  beauty  of  snow-flakes  ? 
What  are  snow-flakes?  Give  the  comparison  between  them  and  other  crystals. 
What  is  true  of  the  flakes  of  snow  just  as  it  is  of  leaves  and  flowers  ? What  is  said 
about  the  abundance  of  the  crystals  of  snow?  Tell  about  the  tree  covered  with 
snow.  What  is  said  about  God’s  destroying  the  crystals  of  the  snow?  What  is 
the  frostwork  on  the  windows  in  winter?  What  is  said  about  the  figures  in  it? 
What  is  ice  ? What  is  there  very  singular  about  it  ? What  would  happen  if  ice 
were  heavier  than  water  ? Tell  about  the  regions  where  there  are  always  ice  and 
snow.  What  is  true  of  some  mountains  ? 


110 


HEAT  AND  COLD. 


Most  of  the  heat  in  the  world  comes  from  the  sun. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

HEAT  AND  COLD. 

We  do  not  know  what  heat  is.  Wise  men  have  tried  Jto  find 
out  what  it  is,  hut  they  have  never  been  able  to  do  it.  But  we 
know  some  things  that  heat  comes  from,  and  some  things  that  it 
does,  and  these  I will  tell  you  about. 

Most  of  the  heat  in  the  world  comes  from  the  sun  in  company 
with  the  light.  A long  way  it  travels  to  get  here.  It  is  millions 
and  millions  of  miles  that  it  comes  in  straight  lines  to  us.  Then 
there  is  the  heat  that  comes  from  the  fires  that  we  make.  Here 
there  is  generally  light  with  the  heat,  just  as  there  is  with  that 
which  comes  from  the  sun. 

Heat  and  light,  when  they  come  together,  do  not  always  keep 
together,  but  are  sometimes  separated  from  each  other.  If  you 
are  standing  before  a fire  and  holding  a pane  of  glass  before  your 
face,  it  keeps  off  the  heat — that  is,  the  heat  does  not  come  through 
the  glass,  or  so  little  of  it  comes  through  that  you  do  not  feel  it. 
The  glass  stops  the  heat,  but  lets  its  companion,  the  light,  pass 
through.  Now,  if  the  light  of  the  sun  comes  through  a window, 
you  feel  the  heat  with  it.  The  light  and  heat  come  through  the 
glass  in  company.  They  are  not  separated  after  traveling  so 
many  millions  of  miles  together.  Why  it  is  different  with  the 
fire  and  the  sun  we  know  not.  I suppose  that  the  heat  and  light 
that  come  from  the  sun  are  in  some  way  more  closely  united  than 


HEAT  AND  COLD. 


Ill 


Heat  made  in  our  bodies.  Friction  a source  of  heat.  Lucifer  matches. 


the  heat  and  light  that  come  from  the  fire,  and  therefore  are  not  so 
easily 

But  heat  is  often  made  without  any  light.  This  is  the  case 
with  the  heat  of  our  bodies.  There  is  a sort  of  burning  every 
where  within  us  to  make  the  heat,  but  it  is  a burning  without  any 
flame  or  light.  Our  bodies  are  not  made  warm  by  fire  and  cloth- 
ing, but  they  keep  themselves  warm.  The  only  use  of  our  fires 
and  clothing  generally  is  to  keep  the  heat  which  is  made  in  our 
bodies  from  flying  off  too  fast  in  the  air  around  us.  A great  deal 
of  heat  is  made  in  the  bodies  of  all  animals,  and  the  more  act- 
ive they  are  the  more  heat  they  make.  You  know  that  when  you 
play  very  hard  you  become  very  much  heated.  This  is  because, 
when  the  heart  beats  so  quickly,  sending  the  blood  all  over  the 
body  so  rapidly,  there  is  more  heat  manufactured  than  when  the 
body  is  still. 

Heat  is  also  produced  by  friction  without  causing  any  light. 
Rub  two  smooth  sticks  together,  and  see  how  warm  they  become. 
The  woodwork  of  machinery  has  been  known  to  take  fire  from  the 
heat  caused  by  friction ; and  Indians  used  often  to  kindle  their 
fires  by  rubbing  two  sticks  together. 

You  know  how  easily  a match  takes  fire  by  rubbing  it.  This 
is  because  there  is  on  the  end  of  it  a substance  that  takes  fire  with 
a very  little  heat,  and  so  requires  but  a little  friction  to  set  it  on 
fire.  This  curious  substance  is  phosphorus.  It  is  mixed  with 
sulphur  on  the  ends  of  the  matches.  When  once  the  phosphorus 
is  set  on  fire  with  the  friction,  it  burns  the  sulphur  with  it. 

It  is  not  many  years  since  the  lucifer  matches,  as  they  were  at 


112 


HEAT  AND  COLD. 


The  tinder-box.  Heat  made  in  the  earth.  Cold  not  a thing. 

first  called,  were  invented.  Before  this  we  had  a most  inconven- 
ient way  of  getting  a light  when  there  was  no  fire  at  hand.  A 
flint  was  struck  upon  a piece  of  steel  again  and  again  over  some 
tinder.  The  object  was  to  make  a spark  which  would  set  fire  to 
the  tinder.  This  was  not  always  readily  done,  and  I remember 
getting  out  of  patience  many  a time  in  working  over  my  tinder- 
box  when  I was  a student  in  college. 

There  is  a great  deal  of  heat  made  inside  of  the  earth,  and  it  is 
supposed  by  some  that  all  the  middle  of  this  great  round  ball  that 
is  called  the  earth  is  an  immense  fire  like  a furnace.  The  earth- 
quakes are  supposed  to  be  caused  by  the  heavings  of  this  fire,  and 
the  volcanoes  are  so  many  chimneys  where  the  fire  of  this  great 
furnace  gets  vent. 

Heat  is  a thing,  but  there  is  really  no  such  thing  as  cold.  Any 
thing  is  cold  when  there  is  but  little  heat  in  it.  Whether  all  the 
heat  can  get  out  of  any  thing  we  do  not  know.  There  is  heat 
even  in  ice.  This  has  been  proved  in  this  way : Two  pieces  of 
ice  were  rubbed  together  in  a very  cold  day,  and  some  of  the  ice 
became  melted.  How  was  this  ? The  air  all  about  the  ice  was 
too  cold  to  melt  it ; and  it  must  be,  therefore,  that  it  was  the  heat 
in  the  ice,  waked  up,  as  we  may  say,  and  brought  out  by  the  rub- 
bing, that  melted  the  ice. 

What  feels  cold  to  you  may  feel  warm  to  another.  If,  when 
your  hand  is  very  warm,  you  take  hold  of  some  one’s  hand  that  is 
only  moderately  warm,  it  will  feel  cool  to  you,  and  perhaps  even 
cold ; but  if  some  one  whose  hands  are  quite  cold  takes  hold  of 
the  same  hand,  it  will  feel  to  him  quite  warm. 


HEAT  AND  COLD. 


113 


Experiment  with  three  vessels.  Drinking  water  after  eating  ice-cream. 

Try  a little  experiment,  which  will  show  the  same  thing  in  an- 
other way.  Take  three  vessels.  Put  into  one  water  as  hot  as 
your  hand  can  hear,  into  another  ice-cold  water,  and  into  the  third 
water  that  is  a little  warm,  or  that  has  had  the  chill  taken  off. 
Now  put  one  of  your  hands  into  the  vessel  of  hot  water,  and  the 
other  into  the  vessel  of  cold  water.  Keep  them  there  a little 
while.  Then  take  them  out,  and  put  both  into  the  vessel  that 
has  the  water  which  is  slightly  warmed.  The  water  in  this  wil] 
feel  cold  to  the  hand  which  was  in  the  hot  water,  and  warm  to  the 
hand  which  was  in  the  cold  water. 

For  the  same  reason,  water  standing  in  a room  will  feel  quite 
warm  to  you  if  you  have  been  handling  snow,  though  it  is  cold  to 
others.  So,  also,  water  that  was  very  cold  to  you  before  eating 
ice-cream,  seems,  after  eating  it,  to  have  lost  all  its  coldness. 

So  you  see  that  heat  and  cold  are  not  two  things  separate  from 
each  other,  of  which  you  can  tell  where  one  begins  and  the  other 
ends.  It  is  convenient  to  speak  of  the  cold  as  if  it  were  a thing, 
just  as  heat  is,  though,  as  I have  told  you,  it  is  not ; and  it  is 
well  enough  to  do  so  if  we  understand  the  matter  right. 

Questions. — What  do  we  know  about  heat  ? From  what  does  most  of  the  heat  come  ? 
What  does  it  come  with  ? What  is  said  about  sun-heat  and  fire-heat  ? Tell  about 
the  making  of  heat  in  our  bodies.  What  is  the  use  of  our  fires  and  clothing  in  cold 
weather  ? Why  do  you  become  so  much  heated  on  playing  hard  ? What  is  said 
about  friction  ? Explain  the  operation  of  Lucifer  matches.  What  is  said  about 
tinder-boxes  ? What  is  said  about  the  inside  of  the  earth  ? When  is  any  thing 
cold  ? Is  there  any  thing  that  has  no  heat  in  it  ? How  is  it  proved  that  there  is 
heat  in  ice  ? Does  what  feels  cold  to  one  always  feel  cold  to  another  ? Give  the 
experiment  of  the  three  vessels  of  water.  What  other  things  can  be  explained  in 
the  same  way  ? 


H 


114 


THE  DIFFUSION  OF  HEAT. 


Experiment  showing  how  heat  spreads. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  DIFFUSION  OF  HEAT. 

Heat  always  tries  to  spread  itself  in  all  directions.  If  you  put 
the  end  of  a poker  in  the  fire  and  hold  it  there,  you  do  something 
more  than  heat  that  end.  You  heat  the  whole  of  it  up  to  the  end 
that  you  hold  in  your  hand.  The  reason  is,  that  the  heat  that 
comes  into  the  end  of  the  poker  wThich  is  in  the  fire  spreads 
through  all  of  it  to  the  other  end. 

This  figure  represents  an  ex- 
periment that  you  can  try,  which 
shows  how  the  heat  spreads 
through  any  thing  solid.  A rod  or  bar  of  iron  is  taken,  and  small 
balls  of  wood  are  fastened  to  it,  as  you  see,  by  some  wax.  Now, 
on  heating  one  end  of  the  bar  with  a lamp,  as  the  heat  spreads 
along  the  bar,  the  balls  one  after  another  drop  off,  because  the 
wax  that  holds  them  melts. 

Heat  spreads  from  one  thing  to  another  when  it  can  get  a 
chance  to  do  it.  If  one  thing  that  has  a good  deal  of  heat  in  it 
touches  or  is  near  by  another  that  has  less  heat  in  it,  it  parts 
with  some  of  its  heat,  and  lets  it  go  into  the  other  thing,  and  after 
a little  while  one  will  be  as  warm  as  the  other.  For  this  reason, 
in  a warmed  room,  all  the  furniture,  the  tables,  the  bureaus,  the 
carpet,  and  the  walls  of  the  room  become  heated  alike.  The  heat 
from  the  fire  spreads  through  them  all.  It  takes  some  time  to  do 
this,  but  it  is  done. 


THE  DIFFUSION  OF  IIEAT. 


115 


How  ice  is  melted.  How  fanning  cools  us. 


Blowing  on  the  lingers. 


It  is  because  heat  goes  from  one  thing  to  another  that  ice  melts 
in  warm  water  or  warm  air.  Some  of  the  heat  in  the  water  or  air 
goes  into  the  ice  and  melts  it,  and  the  melting  ice  cools  the  water 
or  air  by  thus  taking  a part  of  its  heat. 

The  heat  which  I have  told  you  is  made  in  our  bodies  spreads 
continually  in  the  air  around  us.  This  is  the  reason  that  a room 
which  is  comfortably  warm  becomes  uncomfortably  so  when  a 
large  company  has  been  in  it  for  a little  time.  A great  deal  of 
heat  spreads  into  the  air  from  so  many  bodies. 

Did  you  ever  think  how  fanning  cools  you  ? It  is  by  making 
the  heat  go  off  faster  from  your  body  into  the  air.  It  moves  off 
the  air  that  has  become  heated  by  your  body,  and  brings  some 
other  air  to  take  its  place.  For  the  same  reason,  blowing  upon 
any  thing  that  is  hot  helps  to  cool  it.  It  brings  the  air  to  it  fast- 
er than  it  would  come  without  the  blowing,  and  so  the  heat  passes 
off  faster.  But  perhaps  you  will  ask  me  to  explain  why  it  is  that 
blowing  on  your  fingers  when  they  are  cold  warms  them,  when 
blowing  on  any  thing  hot  cools  it.  This  is  plain  enough.  The 
air  that  you  blow  on  to  your  fingers  is  warmer  than  they  are,  and 
gives  some  of  its  heat  to  them.  If,  on  the  contrary,  your  fingers 
were  hot  with  fever,  blowing  on  them  would  cool  them,  for  they 
w^ould  then  give  some  of  their  heat  to  the  air  that  is  cooler  than 
they  are. 

Heat  spreads  through  some  things  more  easily  than  it  does 
through  others.  It  spreads  through  iron  very  easily  indeed,  as 
you  know  by  holding  an  iron  poker  with  one  end  in  the  fire,  but 
it  does  not  spread  any  thing  like  as  easily  through  wood.  If  you 


116 


THE  DIFFUSION  OF  HEAT. 


Wood  a poor  conductor.  Wooden  handles.  Holders.  Ice  kept  in  flannel. 

hold  a stick  of  wood  with  one  end  in  the  fire,  you  can  let  it  burn 
off  without  feeling  the  heat  at  the  other  end ; but  you  could  not 
hold  a poker  so  long  in  the  fire,  for  the  heat  would  spread  to  the 
end  in  your  hand  so  much  that  it  would  soon  be  too  hot  for  you 
to  hold  it.  So  iron  is  said  to  be  a better  conductor  of  heat  than 
wood,  for  the  heat  is  conducted  through  it  more  easily  than  through 
the  wood. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  wooden  handles  are  put  upon  some  iron 
tools  that  are  used  in  operations  about  the  fire.  The  tool  which 
the  tinman  uses  in  soldering  has  a wooden  handle.  If  it  had  not, 
his  hand  would  be  burned  by  the  heat  going  up  to  it  by  the  iron 
handle ; but  very  little  of  it  goes  into  the  wooden  handle  and 
spreads  there,  because  wood  is  so  poor  a conductor  of  heat.  We 
do  not  need  wooden  handles  for  tongs  and  pokers,  because  we  do 
not  have  to  keep  them  in  the  fire  so  long  as  the  tinman  does  his 
soldering-iron.  The  handle  of  a metallic  tea-pot  is,  you  know, 
made  of  wood  ; for,  if  it  was  metallic,  the  heat  from  the  tea  would 
spread  through  it,  and  make  it  so  hot  that  it  could  not  be  held  in 
the  hand.  The  holder  which  is  used  in  ironing  is  of  service,  be- 
cause it  is  so  poor  a conductor  of  heat.  The  heat  does  not  read- 
ily go  through  it  to  the  hand ; so,  also,  we  sometimes  use  paper 
to  take  up  things  that  are  hot,  because  the  paper,  being  a poor 
conductor,  does  not  let  much  of  the  heat  pass  through  it  to  the 
hand.  You  have  seen  people  wrap  up  ice  in  flannel  to  keep  it 
from  melting.  The  flannel  here  does  for  the  ice  what  the  woolen 
or  paper  holder  does  for  the  hand — it  prevents  the  heat  in  the  air 
around  from  getting  to  the  ice. 


THE  DIFFUSION  OF  HEAT. 


117 


Experiment  on  a stove.  Air  a poor  conductor  of  heat. 

Here  is  represented  an  experiment 
which  shows  how  heat  spreads  through 
different  things  with  different  degrees  of 
rapidity.  Some  pieces  of  different  things 
of  the  same  size  and  shape  are  put  on 
top  of  a stove.  They  are  pieces  of  iron 
zinc,  copper,  lead,  marble,  and  brick.  On 
the  top  of  each  is  put  a little  bit  of  wax. 
The  wax  on  the  copper  melts  first,  be- 
cause this  is  a better  conductor  of  heat 
than  any  of  the  others.  Next  is  the  iron; 
next,  the  zinc ; next,  the  lead  ; next,  the  marble ; and  last  of  all, 
the  brick. 

In  air  that  is  kept  still  heat  spreads  very  slowly;  but  heat, 
when  it  can,  always  sets  air  in  motion.  I have  told  you,  in 
Chapter  XIII.,  how  heated  air  rises  and  cold  air  takes  its  place. 
This  is  going  on  all  the  time  about  a stove.  As  fast  as  the  air  is 
heated,  it  goes  up  by  the  stove  and  the  pipe,  and  cold  air  keeps 
coming  to  the  stove  to  be  heated.  In  this  way  all  the  air  in  the 
room  is,  after  a little  while,  warmed.  Now,  if  the  air  could  all  be 
kept  still  instead  of  being  kept  in  motion  in  this  way,  it  would 
take  a long  time  for  the  heat  to  be  spread  from  the  stove  through 
it,  for  air,  like  wood,  is  a poor  conductor  of  heat. 

We  see  the  fact  that  confined  air  is  a poor  conductor  of  heat  in 
a great  many  things.  Some  of  them  I will  mention.  You  have 
sometimes  seen  double  windows.  It  is  the  confined  air  between 
the  outer  and  the  inner  windows  that  prevents  the  heat  of  the  air 


118 


THE  DIFFUSION  OF  HEAT. 


Double  windows.  A pear  kept  in  snow.  How  furs  keep  in  warmth. 

in  the  room  from  spreading  to  the  air  out  doors.  When  the  win- 
dow is  single,  the  outside  air  cools  the  air  in  the  room  through  the 
window  in  this  way : The  air  in  the  room  close  to  the  window 
gives  some  of  its  heat  to  the  glass,  and,  being  thus  cooled,  it  falls, 
and  some  more  warm  air  comes  to  be  cooled  in  like  manner,  and 
then  falls,  and  so  on  continually.  All  this  time  the  cold  air  on 
the  outside  keeps  coming  to  get  warmed  by  the  glass,  and  as  it  is 
warmed  it  goes  up,  and  more  cold  air  comes  to  take  its  place.  But 
all  this  is  pretty  much  prevented  where  the  windows  are  double, 
by  the  confined  air  between  them. 

There  is  a great  deal  of  air  in  snow.  This  is  the  chief  reason 
that  snow  is  so  apt  to  keep  the  ground  from  being  frozen.  It  is 
the  earth’s  winter  coat  of  confined  air,  for  there  is  air  mingled 
with  its  flakes  as  they  are  piled  upon  each  other  on  the  ground. 
Last  spring  I picked  up  a pear  in  my  garden  that  was  as  fresh  as 
it  was  when  it  fell  upon  the  ground  in  the  fall.  It  happened  to  lie 
in  a spot  where  the  snow  lay  all  the  winter,  and  was  thus  kept 
from  freezing. 

Furs  are  commonly  spoken  of  as  if  they  had  some  warmth  in 
them.  This  is  a mistake.  They  are  not  warm  of  themselves. 
They  only  serve  to  keep  in  the  heat  that  is  made  in  the  body,  and 
they  do  this  by  the  air  that  is  mingled  up  with  the  fibres  of  the 
fur*.  This  confined  air  is  a poor  conductor,  and  so  the  heat  made 
in  the  body  does  not  readily  pass  off  through  it  into  the  air 
around.  Fur  is  therefore  to  an  animal,  in  this  respect,  what  snow 
is  to  the  ground,  or  what  double  windows  are  to  a room ; and  the 
finer  the  fur  is,  the  better  does  it  keep  the  heat  in,  because  the  air 


THE  DIFFUSION  OF  HEAT. 


119 


Downy  blankets  of  buds. 


How  straw  protects  trees  from  cold. 


is  more  confined  among  fine  fibres  than  it  is  in  coarse  hair.  And 
it  is  carious,  that  if  an  animal  with  thick  fur  is  taken  from  the 
cold  country  where  he  belongs  to  a warm  climate,  and  kept  there, 
his  fur  gradually  loses  its  fineness  and  thickness,  and  becomes  like 
hair.  This  is  because  he  does  not  need  his  thick,  furry  coat  where 
the  weather  is  warm. 

You  remember  that  I told  you  in  Part  First  that  inside  of  the 
covering  with  which  every  one  of  the  buds  on  the  trees  is  protect- 
ed from  the  cold  of  winter  there  is  a fine  down.  This,  I told  you, 
was  the  bud’s  little  blanket.  You  can  understand,  now,  how  this 
keeps  it  from  being  chilled  by  the  wintry  blasts.  It  is  the  air  that 
is  confined  between  the  fibres  of  this  downy  blanket  that  does  it. 

You  remember,  also,  that  I told  you  in  Part  First  about  tying 
straw  around  trees  to  protect  them  from  the  winter’s  cold.  Now 
you  know  that  every  stalk  of  straw  is  hollow,  and  so  is  full  of  air, 
and  it  is  the  air  in  all  the  stalks  of  the  straw  that  makes  it  so  good 
a coat  for  the  trees.  This  coat  protects  them  just  in  the  same 
way,  then,  that  an  animal  is  protected  by  its  furry  coat,  or  the  bud 
by  its  blanket  of  down. 

Questions. — What  is  said  of  the  spreading  of  heat  ? What  is  said  about  its  going 
from  one  thing  to  another  ? How  is  ice  melted  ? What  is  said  about  heat’s  spread- 
ing from  our  bodies  ? Tell  how  fanning  cools  you.  Why  does  blowing  a hot  thing 
help  to  cool  it  ? Why  does  blowing  upon  cold  fingers  warm  them  ? Explain  what 
is  meant  when  we  say  that  some  things  are  better  conductors  of  heat  than  others. 
Give  the  illustrations.  How  does  heat  commonly  spread  in  air  ? How  would  it  be 
if  the  air  could  be  kept  still?  Explain  how  double  windows  keep  the  heat  in. 
What  is  said  about  snow  ? What  about  furs  ? Why  does  a fine  fur  keep  the  heat 
in  better  than  a coarse  one  ? How  does  taking  an  animal  to  a warm  climate  affect  the 
fur  ? Tell  about  the  blankets  of  the  buds.  Tell  about  covering  trees  with  straw. 


120 


WHAT  HEAT  DOES. 


Experiment  showing  how  air  is  expanded  by  heat. 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

WHAT  HEAT  DOES. 

Heat  makes  most  things  larger,  or  expands  them,  as  it  is  com- 
monly expressed.  I will  give  you  some  examples  of  this. 

I have  already  told  you  in  Chapter  XIII.  how  heat  expands  air. 
You  remember  the  two  experiments  with  the  bladder  before  the 
fire.  You  remember  also  what  I told  you  about  the  expansion  of 
the  air  in  apples  and  chestnuts  by  heat. 

Here  is  represented  another  experiment  which  shows  that  heat 

expands  air.  A glass  tube,  with  a 
bulb  on  the  end  of  it,  is  put  with  its 
open  end  into  a tumbler  of  water. 
Of  course  the  tube  is  full  of  air. 
Now*  on  putting  the  warm  hand  on 
the  bulb,  as  represented,  the  air  in  it 
will  be  warmed.  The  air,  therefore, 
swells,  and  there  is  not  room  for  it 
all  in  the  tube  ; and  so  some  of  it  es- 
capes in  bubbles,  as  you  see,  through 
the  water. 

The  snapping  wood,  you  know, 
often  throws  out  sparks.  These 
are  parts  of  the  wood  partly  burned  that  happen  to  be  right  on  the 
spot  where  the  confined  heated  air  was  that  has  broken  loose. 


WHAT  HEAT  DOES. 


121 


Snapping  of  burning  wood.  Air  set  in  motion  by  heat. 


Sea  breeze. 


The  more  porous  wood  is,  the  more  apt  it  is  to  snap.  The  solid 
walnut  seldom  snaps ; but  the  chestnut,  which  is  very  porous,  is 
always  snapping.  So,  too,  dry  wood  snaps  more  than  green,  be- 
cause the  sap  has  dried  up,  and  air  has  taken  its  place  in  the  pipes 
of  the  wood. 

Air  expanded  by  heat,  as  you  have  before  seen,  always  rises. 
It  is  pushed  up,  as  I have  already  told  you,  by  the  colder  air. 
which  is  heavier.  This  keeps  the  air  always  moving.  It  is  nev- 
er still,  for  heat  is  always  acting  upon  it.  Even  when  it  is  so 
still  that  we  say  there  is  no  wind,  it  is  not  perfectly  still.  There 
is  all  the  time  the  going  up  of  warm  air  and  the  coming  down 
of  that  which  is  colder.  You  can  see  this  in  a room  if  you  shut 
it  up  so  as  to  make  it  quite  dark,  and  let  only  a little  light  in  by 
partly  opening  one  shutter.  Though  the  air  seems  to  you  to  be 
perfectly  still,  you  will  see,  where  this  light  is  let  in,  little  motes 
flying  up  and  down.  This  is  because  there  are  currents  in  the  air, 
and  these  are  made  by  heat. 

It  is  heat  that  puts  the  air  in  motion  so  as  to  produce  winds. 
You  have  heard  people  talk  about  the  cool,  refreshing  sea  breeze. 
This  comes  up  commonly  in  the  afternoon.  It  is  caused  in  this 
way : The  earth  becomes  very  much  heated  by  the  hot  sun  during 
the  day,  and  so  heats  the  air  above  it.  This  heated  air  rises,  and 
the  air  which  comes  off  from  the  cool  water  to  take  its  place  makes 
the  sea  breeze. 

You  see  why  it  is  that  heated  air  is  lighter  than  cold  air.  It 
is  swelled  by  the  heat  without  having  any  thing  added  to  it.  Its 
particles  are  put  farther  apart.  It  is  made  thinner,  and  air,  as  it 


122 


WHAT  HEAT  DOES. 


Liquids  expanded  by  heat.  Thermometer  explained. 

becomes  cold,  is  contracted  or  made  smaller.  Its  particles  are 
brought  closer  together,  and  so  it  is  made  thicker  and  heavier. 

And  so  it  is  with  water  or  any  liquid.  When  it  is  heated  it 
becomes  larger  and  thinner,  just  as  air  does,  and  so  is  lighter.  It 
rises,  therefore,  being  pushed  up  by  the  heavier  cold  water.  There 
are,  therefore,  the  same  up  and  down  currents  in  water  that  there 
are  in  the  air.  When  one  is  heating  water,  the  warm  water  is  all 
the  time  going  up,  and  the  cold  water  is  going  down.  If  you  heat 
it  in  a glass  vessel,  and  have  some  little  light  things  in  the  wTater, 
you  can  see  them  go  up  and  down  in  the  currents  in  the  same 
way  that  you  see  motes  moving  up  and  down  in  the  currents  of 
the  air. 

The  grocer  knows  very  well  that  heat  expands  all  liquids.  His 
molasses  and  oil  are  much  thinner,  and  so  run  more  freely  in  sum- 
mer than  in  winter.  And  the  gallon  of  molasses  or  oil  that  you 
buy  in  summer  does  not  weigh  so  much  as  the  same  quantity  in 
winter,  for  the  same  reason  that  heated  air  is  lighter  than  cold  air. 

In  the  thermometer  you  see  the  expansion  or  swelling  of  a fluid 
by  heat.  Put  your  finger  on  the  bulb,  and  hold  it  there  a little 
while.  The  mercury  rises,  you  see.  What  is  the  reason  ? The 
warmth  of  your  finger  swells  or  expands  the  mercury,  and  it  rises, 
because  it  needs  more  room.  You  can  do  the  same  thing  by 
breathing  on  it.  Your  warm  breath  will  expand  the  mercury. 
This  is  just  what  the  warm  air  does  to  it ; and  when  the  weather 
is  cold,  the  cold  air  shrinks  or  contracts  it.  When  it  is  very  cold 
indeed,  the  mercury  is  very  low  down  in  the  tube,  because  it  is  so 
much  contracted  by  the  cold  air ; and  when  it  is  hot  weather,  the 


WHAT  HEAT  DOES. 


123 


Setting  tires.  Heat  changing  solids  into  fluids. 

f 

mercury  is  very  high,  because  it  is  so  much  swollen  by  the  heat. 
You  can  understand,  by  what  I have  told  you,  how  it  is  that  we 
judge  of  the  heat  of  the  air  by  the  thermometer. 

Heat  expands  solid  substances,  though  not  as  much  as  it  does 
the  air,  and  gases,  and  liquids.  If  a rod  of  iron  will  j ust  go  through 
a hole  in  another  piece  of  iron,  you  can  not  get  it  into  that  hole 
when  the  rod  is  heated,  because  it  is  swollen  or  expanded  by  the 
heat.  The  tire  of  a wheel  is  heated  when  it  is  put  on  the  wheel. 
Why  this  is  done  I will  explain  to  you.  The  tire  is  made 
a little  too  small  for  the  wheel.  You  can  not  put  it  on  the 
wheel  while  it  is  cool,  but  when  it  is  heated  it  goes  on  very  easily, 
because  the  heat  has  made  it  larger.  Cold  water  is  now  poured 
upon  it,  and  as  it  contracts  it  fits  very  tightly,  giving  great  firm- 
ness to  the  wheel.  It  could  not  be  made  to  fit  so  tightly  in  any 
other  way. 

So  I have  showed  you  how  heat  expands  various  things.  It 
sometimes  does  more  than  this  when  there  is  enough  of  it.  It 
changes  a solid  into  a fluid.  For  example,  it  changes  ice  into 
water.  So  it  makes  the  hard  iron  into  a fluid  so  that  you  can 
pour  it  like  water,  as  you  can  see  in  an  iron  foundry  when  the 
workmen  are  casting.  It  takes  more  heat  to  melt  iron  than  it  does 
to  melt  ice,  and  it  takes  more  to  melt  ice  than  to  melt  mercury. 
It  takes  so  little  to  melt  mercury  that  we  can  seldom  get  a chance 
to  see  it  solid.  In  some  of  the  coldest  regions  of  the  earth,  how- 
ever, it  is  often  seen  solid. 

But  heat  does  more  than  this.  It  changes  some  liquids  into 
something  like  air  or  gas.  For  example,  it  changes  water  into 


124 


WHAT  HEAT  DOES. 


What  heat  does  to  animals  and  plants. 


Making  of  birds  in  eggs. 


steam.  There  must  be  a great  deal  of  the  heat  to  do  this — much 
more  than  is  required  to  change  ice  into  water. 

I have  told  you  in  Parts  First  and  Second  much  about  what 
heat  does  to  life  in  vegetables  and  animals.  The  heat  of  spring 
wakes  up  the  seeds  and  the  buds ; and  stalks,  and  leaves,  and  flow- 
ers, and  fruits  come  forth  from  them,  making  the  earth  cheerful 
and  gay.  It  wakes  up,  too,  multitudes  of  animals,  that  with  their 
moving  about  and  their  various  voices  make  the  world  every  where 
so  busy.  Thus,  almost  like  magic,  does  heat  work  in  the  animal 
and  vegetable  world.  I know  not  any  thing  in  which  the  effects 
of  heat  are  so  wonderful  as  in  the  egg.  Look  at  a hen’s  egg  as  it 
is  opened,  and  see  the  golden  yolk  in  the  midst  of  the  pure,  glairy 
white.  It  does  not  seem  that  this  could  be  changed  into  a chick- 
en, with  its  bones,  and  muscles,  and  nerves,  and  feathers,  and 
claws,  and  by  nothing  but  heat ; but  so  it  is.  The  hen  has  only 
to  keep  the  egg  warm  by  sitting  on  it,  and  all  this  happens ; and 
the  chicken,  when  it  is  all  formed,  bursts  the  shell,  and  comes  out 
from  its  round  white  prison. 

Questions. — How  does  heat  affect  most  things  ? Explain  the  snapping  of  wood  on 
the  fire.  What  are  the  sparks  that  are  thrown  out?  What  kinds  of  wood  snap 
most  ? What  keeps  air  moving,  and  how  ? How  can  you  know  that  air  is  not  still 
when  it  seems  to  he  ? What  makes  the  wind  ? What  is  said  about  the  sea  breeze  ? 
Why  is  heated  air  lighter  than  cold  air?  How  is  it  with  water?  What  is  said 
about  heating  water  ? What  effect  does  heat  have  on  molasses  and  oil  ? Explain 
the  operation  of  the  thermometer.  What  is  said  about  the  expansion  of  solids  by 
heat  ? Give  the  experiment  of  the  rod  of  iron.  Explain  the  putting  of  a tire  on  a 
wheel.  What  is  said  about  the  changing  of  solids  into  fluids  by  heat?  What 
change  does  very  great  heat  produce  in  water  ? What  does  heat  do  in  the  animal 
and  the  vegetable  world  ? What  is  said  about  the  egg  ? 


STEAM. 


125 


IIow  steam  is  like  air. 


Steam  in  boilers  and  tea-kettles. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

STEAM. 

Steam  is  like  air  in  three  things.  It  is  very  thin ; it  is  very 
elastic,  or  has  a great  deal  of  springiness  ; and  you  can  not  see  it. 
Now  perhaps  you  will  say  that  this  last  is  not  true,  and  that  we 
often  see  steam  puffing  out  of  a steam-engine  or  out  of  a tea-ket- 
tle ; hut  this  that  we  see  is  not  really  steam.  It  is  not  like  the 
steam  that  is  in  the  hoiler  of  the  engine  or  in  the  tea-kettle.  It 
is  a cloud  of  fog  that  the  steam  has  turned  into  on  coming  out  into 
the  air.  It  is  just  like  common  fog,  except  that  it  is  hot.  Real 
steam  you  can  not  see  as  you  see  this. 

Perhaps  you  will  ask  how  I know  that  we  can  not  see  steam,  as 
I can  not  look  into  a hoiler  or  a tea-kettle.  If  we  hoil  water  in  a 
glass  vessel,  we  can  see  the  steam  if  it  can  he  seen  ; but  we  see 
nothing  in  the  vessel  over  the  water,  and  yet  we  know  that  there 
is  a plenty  of  steam  there,  for  the  steam-fog  is  made  in  the  air  hy 
the  steam  coming  out  at  the  mouth  of  the  vessel. 

But  we  do  not  need  this  proof  to  show  us  that  steam  can  not 
he  seen.  Look  at  the  nose  of  a tea-kettle  when  the  water  is  boil- 
ing in  it  quite  briskly*,  Close  to  it,  for  half  an  inch  or  more,  you 
can  not  see  the  steam-fog  at  all.  What  is  the  reason  ? There  is 
a stream  of  steam  coming  out  as  fast  as  it  can  get  out,  hut  the  air 
has  not  yet  had  a chance  to  change  it  into  fog.  It  must  spread 
out  a little  first.  When  it  begins  to  spread  out,  the  cool  air 


126 


STEAM. 


How  steam  is  made. 


Simmering. 


Force  of  steam. 


makes  the  particles  of  steam  form  into  companies,  and  it  is  a mul- 
titude of  these  companies  that  you  see  in  the  cloud  of  steam,  as  it 
is  called,  that  comes  from  a steam-engine  or  from  a tea-kettle. 
The  air  really  changes  the  steam  into  water,  for  fog,  as  I have  told 
you  in  Chapter  XIX.,  is  water  in  companies  that  are  too  small  to 
make  drops. 

See,  now,  how  steam  is  made  out  of  the  water  in  a tea-kettle. 
The  fire  heats  the  water  that  is  nearest  to  it  in  the  kettle.  This 
rises,  and  more  water  comes  to  take  its  place  and  be  heated,  and 
so  the  water  keeps  circulating  up  and  down,  the  warmer  going  up 
and  the  cooler  going  down.  After  a while,  when  the  water  all 
gets  to  be  very  hot,  you  hear  a simmering  noise.  Now  the  steam 
begins  to  be  made.  The  sound  is  made  by  little  bubbles  of  steam 
which  are  formed  at  the  bottom  of  the  kettle.  Soon  larger  bub- 
bles of  steam  are  made,  because  so  much  more  of  the  water  be- 
comes hot  enough  to  be  readily  made  into  steam  ; and  the  rising 
of  these  bubbles  makes  a great  commotion,  as  you  can  see  if  the 
water  be  in  an  open  pot.  All  this  process  of  steam-making  you 
can  see  if  the  water  is  boiled  in  a thin  glass  bottle,  or  flask,  as  it 
is  called. 

There  is  a great  deal  of  force  in  steam.  It  is  steam  that  works 
the  locomotive,  and  moves  along  the  great  steamship  in  the  water. 
Sometimes  it  shows  its  power  in  destruction,  as  when  it  bursts  a 
boiler. 

Now  what  is  it  that  makes  steam  so  powerful?  To  under- 
stand this,  look*  at  a locomotive  when  it  is  standing  still,  with  its 
boiler  full  of  steam.  A valve  is  opened,  and  out  rushes  the  steam, 


STEAM. 


127 


Wliat  makes  the  lid  of  a tea-kettle  rattle. 


Bursting  of  boilers. 


spreading  itself,  and  turning  into  a cloud  of  fog.  It  is  this  try- 
ing to  spread  itself  that  makes  the  steam  so  powerful.  If  the 
valve  were  not  opened  the  boiler  might  explode ; for,  as  the  steam 
is  not  used  as  it  is  while  the  locomotive  is  going,  there  would  be 
more  and  more  of  it  in  the  boiler,  for  it  is  making  all  the  time. 
The  force  with  which  it  rushes  out  when  the  valve  is  opened 
shows  how  much  power  it  exerts  in  trying  to  spread  itself. 

You  see  the  same  thing  in  the  rattling  of  the  lid  of  a tea-kettle 
when  the  water  is  boiling  in  it.  The  steam  which  is  made  has 
not  room  in  the  kettle  to  spread  itself.  It  gets  out,  therefore, 
wherever  it  can.  It  blows  out  at  the  nose  ; and  if  the  water  boils 
very  briskly,  it  can  not  get  out  fast  enough  at  the  nose,  and  so  it 
keeps  lifting  the  lid  and  puffing  out  there. 

When  the  steam  is  shut  up  very  tightly,  as  it  is  in  the  boiler 
of  a steam-engine,  it  has  very  great  power,  and  the  more  steam 
there  is  thus  shut  up  the  greater  is  the  power.  Men  are  some- 
times careless  about  this,  and  get  so  much  steam  made  in  the 
boiler  that  it  bursts.  This  is  just  as  the  roasted  chestnut  is  burst 
by  the  steam  and  heated  air  that  are  in  it.  The  boiler  bears  the 
pressure  of  the  steam  as  long  as  it  can.  This  pressure  is  made 
by  the  steam’s  trying  to  spread  itself,  or  by  its  expansive  force, 
as  it  is  expressed.  After  a while,  the  steam  being  made  all  the 
time,  and  being  crowded  together,  as  we  may  say,  the  boiler  all  at 
once  gives  way  with  a loud  noise.  The  noise  is  caused  in  the 
same  way  as  the  pop  of  the  roasted  chestnut.  It  is  the  sudden 
shaking  that  the  escaping  steam  gives  to  the  air. 

There  is  always  a safety-valve  to  a steam-engine.  This  is 


128 


STEAM. 


Safety  valves.  Steam  compared  to  powder.  Boy  melting  lead. 

commonly  kept  shut  by  a weight  which  is  upon  it.  But  when 
there  comes  to  be  a great  deal  of  steam  in  the  boiler,  it  has  expan- 
sive power  enough  to  raise  the  valve,  and  so  some  of  the  steam 
escapes.  This  prevents  the  boiler  from  bursting,  and  hence  the 
valve  is  called  a safety-valve.  Now,  if  there  happen  to  be  a weak 
place  in  the  boiler,  and  the  weight  on  the  valve  is  heavier  than  it 
should  be,  the  weak  place  will  be  apt  to  give  way  rather  than  the 
valve,  and  an  explosion  results.  Many  a boiler  is  burst  in  this 
way. 

I have  told  you  about  another  way  in  which  boilers  are  burst 
in  the  chapter  on  Powder.  It  is  this.  The  boiler  is  carelessly 
left  to  get  nearly  empty,  and  the  fire  therefore  makes  it  very  hot. 
Then,  when  more  water  is  let  into  it,  a great  deal  of  steam  is 
made  all  at  once.  This  exerts  its  expansive  force  with  such  vio- 
lence that  the  boiler  gives  way.  You  can  understand  how  this  is 
if  you  see  a little  water  dropped  upon  red-hot  iron.  A great  cloud 
of  steam  arises,  spreading  itself  in  the  air,  and  you  can  see  that  if 
this  were  pent  up  it  would  make  a strong  pressure  in  trying  to 
get  free. 

A boy  was  once  much  surprised  to  see  the  melted  lead  which 
he  poured  into  a piece  of  elder,  from  which  he  had  scooped  the 
pith,  thrown  with  great  force  against  the  ceiling.  The  reason  was, 
that  the  elder  was  moist,  and  the  moisture  inside  being  changed 
all  at  once  into  steam,  the  expansive  force  of  the  steam  threw  out 
the  lead,  just  as  the  expansive  force  of  the  gas  made  all  at  once 
from  powder  throws  the  ball  out  of  a gun. 

It  takes  but  a little  water  to  make  a good  deal  of  steam,  and 


STEAM. 


129 


Explosion  of  a foundry. 


How  the  sound  of  the  steam-whistle  is  made. 


this  explains  an  explosion  that  once  occurred  in  a cannon  foundry 
in  London.  There  happened  to  be  some  water  in  one  of  tho 
moulds,  and,  therefore,  when  the  melted  metal  was  put  into  it,  this 
water  was  at  once  made  into  steam,  and  this,  in  trying  to  get 
free,  made  such  an  explosion  as  to  blow  up  the  whole  foundry. 
Perhaps  you  can  hardly  believe  that  so  little  water  could  do  so 
much  when  turned  suddenly  into  steam.  But  you  must  remem- 
ber that  the  steam  occupies,  if  set  free,  about  1700  times  as  much 
room  as  the  water  does  from  which  it  is  made.  It  tries  to  get 
this  room,  and  in  doing  this  it  exerts  great  force,  especially  if  it 
be  made  very  suddenly. 

You  will  like  to  know  how  the  sound  of  the  steam-whistle  is 
made.  In  the  chapter  on  the  hearing,  in  Part  Second,  I told  you 
that  sound  is  always  caused  by  the  vibration  or  shaking  of  some- 
thing. Now  in  the  steam-whistle  there  is  a sort  of  bell-shaped 
thing  with  a thin  edge  or  rim.  The  steam,  as  it  is  let  out  through 
the  whistle,  strikes  against  this  rim,  and  makes  it  vibrate,  and  so 
produces  the  sound.  The  sound  is  very  loud,  because  the  steam 
comes  out  with  great  force. 

Questions. — In  what  three  respects  is  steam  like  air?  Tell  about  the  steam-fog. 
How  do  we  know  that  steam  can  not  be  seen  ? What  is  said  about  the  steam  that 
comes  from  the  nose  of  a tea-kettle  ? Describe  how  steam  is  made.  In  what  way 
can  you  see  the  whole  process  ? What  is  said  about  the  force  of  steam  ? How  is 
its  force  shown  in  the  locomotive  when  it  is  stopped  at  a station  ? Tell  about  the 
rattling  of  the  lid  of  a boiling  tea-kettle.  Explain  how  boilers  are  commonly  burst. 
How  does  the  safety-valve  operate  ? How  is  it  that  the  safety-valve  does  not  always 
keep  boilers  from  bursting?  What  other  way  in  which  boilers  are  burst  is  mention- 
ed? Tell  about  the  accident  with  the  melted  lead.  Tell  about  the  blowing  up  of 
au  iron  foundry.  How  is  the  sound  of  the  steam-wliistle  made? 

8 I 


130 


LIGHT. 


The  chief  use  of  light.  Reflection  of  light. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

LIGHT. 

As  I told  you  about  heat,  that  we  do  not  know  what  it  is,  so, 
also,  we  do  not  know  what  light  is.  But  we  know  many  things 
about  light,  just  as  we  do  Aout  heat. 

The  chief  use  of  light  is  to  enable  us  and  different  animals  to 
see.  I have  told  you  something  about  seeing  in  Part  Second. 
It  is  the  light  entering  the  eye  that  makes  us  see.  When  we  see 
the  sun,  or  the  flame  of  a candle,  or  a flash  of  lightning,  the  light 
which  is  made  by  these  different  things  goes  into  the  eye,  and  so 
we  see  them. 

These  things  that  I have  mentioned  make  light,  and  some  of 
this  light  comes  directly  to  our  eyes.  But  we  see  things  that  do 
not  make  any  light.  No  light  is  made  by  the  houses,  and  trees, 
and  persons,  and  many  other  things  that  we  see  about  us.  How 
is  it  that  we  see  them  ? It  is  in  this  way : The  light  that  shines 
on  them  bounds  off  from  them  and  goes  into  our  eyes.  Thus,  if 
you  see  a tree,  the  light  strikes  upon  it,  and  then  bounds  from  it 
into  your  eyes,  and  makes  a picture  or  image  there  of  the  tree. 
When  the  light  bounds  off  in  this  way,  it  is  said  to  be  reflected. 

There  is  a great  deal  of  this  reflection  of  light.  It  is  often  re- 
flected more  than  once,  sometimes  many  times.  Thus,  if  you  see 
a tree  in  a looking-glass,  the  light  is  reflected  twice.  First,  it 
bounds  off  or  is  reflected  from  the  tree,  and  then  it  is  reflected 


LIGHT. 


131 


Images  of  things  in  the  eye. 


Smooth  and  rough  things.  Moon  and  stars. 


from  the  glass  to  your  eyes.  So  if  you  look  at  your  own  face,  the 
light  first  strikes  your  face,  and  is  reflected  from  it  to  the  glass ; 
and  then  it  is  reflected  from  the  glass  to  your  eyes,  and  pictures 
the  image  of  your  face  there. 

Now  observe  that  the  light  that  is  reflected  from  your  face 
makes  an  image  or  picture  of  it  in  the  glass.  It  is  precisely  such 
an  image  that  the  light  entering  your  eye  makes  in  the  back  part 
of  it,  on  a thin  sheet  or  membrane  that  is  there,  except  that  it  is 
a much  smaller  image. 

Every  thing  reflects  light,  but  some  things  reflect  it  more  than 
others.  Rough  things  do  not  reflect  as  much  as  smooth  things. 
How  perfectly  the  smooth  water  of  a pond  reflects  the  houses  and 
trees  at  its  side  when  there  is  no  wind ! You  know  that  all  pol- 
ished surfaces  shine.  This  is  because  they  reflect  a great  deal  of 
light. 

It  is  a reflected  light  that  comes  to  us  from  the  moon  and  from 
some  of  the  stars.  The  light  goes  to  them  from  the  sun,  and  then 
is  reflected  from  them.  They  are  said,  therefore,  to  shine  by  a 
borrowed  light.  The  reason  that  we  can  not  see  the  stars  in  the 
daytime  is,  that  the  light  from  the  sun  is  so  much  brighter  than 
their  light.  The  moon  shines  so  much  more  brightly  than  the 
stars,  that  we  can  see  it  in  the  daytime  when  it  is  above  the  ho- 
rizon, though  the  greater  brightness  of  the  sun  makes  it  quite 
faint. 

I have  told  you  that  light  is  sometimes  reflected  more  than 
twice,  even  many  times.  When  you  look  at  a person  in  a room 
into  which  the  sun  is  not  directly  shining,  where  does  the  light 


132 


LIGHT. 


Light  reflected  back  and  forth. 


Light  makes  plants  and  animals  grow. 


by  which  you  see  him  come  from  ? It  is  not  the  light  that  comes 
straight  from  the  sun,  for  this  is  not  shining  upon  him.  It  is  the 
light  reflected  from  things  around  him.  This  reflected  light  strikes 
upon  him,  and  is  thus  again  reflected  from  him,  and  some  of  it 
enters  your  eyes,  enabling  you  to  see  him. 

Light  is  thus  reflected  back  and  forth  from  one  thing  to  anoth- 
er ; and  a great  deal  of  light  is  reflected  from  every  thing  all  the 
time,  and  in  all  directions.  Suppose  a great  assembly  are  all  look- 
ing at  one  person.  The  light  is  reflected  from  him,  and  goes  into 
a thousand  eyes  at  once  in  all  parts  of  the  house,  making  a picture 
of  him  in  all  of  them.  What  a wonderful  painter  light  is  ! How 
many  pictures  it  is  making  all  the  time  in  the  eyes  of  men  and 
animals,  and  on  mirrors  and  all  smooth  things  every  where ! 

Another  use  of  light  is  to  make  plants  and  animals  grow.  I 
have  told  you  in  Part  I.  how  plants  turn  toward  the  light,  as  if 
they  loved  it.  It  really  has  a great  deal  to  do  with  their  growth. 

This  is  very  plain  whenever  we  see  a plant  that  has  grown  in 
the  dark.  It  looks  pale  and  sickly.  A good  deal  of  light  is 
needed  as  really  as  a free  circulation  of  air  to  make  plants  healthy 
and  strong ; and  the  same  is  true  of  animals.  People  that  live  in 
dark,  under-ground  rooms  in  cities  are  injured  by  the  want  of 
light  as  well  as  by  the  want  of  good  air. 

Most  of  the  light  in  the  world  comes  from  the  sun.  It  comes 
from  there  with  the  heat,  as  I have  before  told  you.  They  travel 
in  company.  It  is  a very  long  journey.  It  is  many  millions  of 
miles.  The  light  is  a little  more  than  eight  minutes  coming  from 
the  sun  to  the  earth. 


LIGHT. 


133 


Light  travels  faster  than  sound.  Light  of  burning  substances.  Fire-flie3. 

Light  travels  very  fast.  It  travels  faster  than  sound  does. 
You  see  a man  cutting  wood  a considerable  distance  off,  and  you 
hear  the  sound  of  each  blow  of  his  axe  a little  after  you  see  it. 
The  reason  is  that  the  light  comes  from  him  to  your  eye  quicker 
than  the  sound  comes  to  your  ear.  You  see  a cannon  fired  at  a 
distance ; you  first  see  the  flash,  and  then  afterward  hear  the  re- 
port. The  thunder  comes  generally  some  time  after  the  flash  that 
causes  it ; that  is,  the  light  of  the  flash  gets  to  your  eye  some  time 
before  the  sound  of  it  reaches  your  ear.  By  observing,  it  has  been 
found  out  just  how  fast  sound  and  light  travel ; and  so,  by  look- 
ing at  a watch  in  a thunder-storm,  we  can  tell  how  far  off  the 
lightning  is. 

Light,  besides  traveling  faster  than  sound,  can  travel  a great 
deal  farther.  Lightning  may  be  so  far  off  that  you  can  not  hear 
the  thunder.  The  light  reaches  your  eye,  but  the  sound  dies  away 
before  it  reaches  your  ear. 

Most  of  our  light,  I have  said,  comes  from  the  sun ; but  much 
light  comes  from  burning  substances — burning  wood,  coal,  oil,  tal- 
low, gas,  &c. 

Light  is  made  by  some  animals.  The  glow-worm  gives  out  a 
soft  and  beautiful  light.  The  fire-fly  sparkles  as  it  flies  about  in 
the  evening.  In  Cuba  and  in  South  America  ladies  wear  in  their 
hair  as  ornaments,  in  evening  parties,  some  small  insects  that  give 
a very  brilliant  light.  Sometimes  the  sea  sparkles  beautifully 
with  light,  which  is  made  by  multitudes  of  very  little  animals  in 
it.  We  see  this  light  often  in  the  wake  of  a vessel,  or  behind  the 
wheel  of  the  steamer,  or  in  the  water  that  falls  from  the  lifted  oar. 


134 


LIGHT. 


Shining  flowers. 


Light-wood. 


Phosphorus. 


It  is  when  the  water  is  disturbed  in  some  way  that  these  animals 
make  their  light.  There  are  some  flowers  in  very  warm  countries 
that  shine  in  the  night.  You  have  seen  what  is  called  light-wood. 
This  is  decayed  wood,  and  it  is  something  in  the  decay  that  makes 
the  light.  Light  is  also  sometimes  given  out  by  animal  sub- 
stances that  are  decaying.  It  is  most  often  seen  in  putrid  fish. 

It  is  supposed  that  in  all  these  cases  the  light  is  made  by  phos- 
phorus, the  same  substance  that  lights  so  easily  in  the  Lucifer 
match.  This  curious  substance  is  commonly  kept  in  water.  If 
a stick  of  it  be  taken  out  of  the  water  in  the  evening,  it  appears 
lighted  like  a glow-worm  ; and  if  you  rub  it  upon  any  thing,  the 
streaks  of  it  will  give  a brilliant  white  light.  Sometimes,  on  rub- 
bing a match,  if  it  does  not  take  fire,  you  see  for  a little  time  light- 
ed streaks  where  you  rubbed  it.  This  is  caused  by  the  phos- 
phorus rubbed  off  from  the  match.  When  the  match  burns,  you 
do  not  see  these  lighted  streaks,  for  the  same  reason  that  you  do 
not  see  the  stars  when  the  sun  shines. 

Questions. — What  is  the  chief  use  of  light?  How  do  we  see?  How  do  we  see 
things  that  do  not  make  light  ? How  do  we  see  things  in  a mirror  ? How  is  the 
image  in  the  mirror  like  that  in  the  eye  ? What  difference  is  there  in  things  in 
reflecting  light?  What  is  said  about  the  light  of  the  moon  and  the  stars?  Why 
can  not  we  see  the  stars  in  the  daytime  ? Why  can  we  see  the  moon  in  the  day- 
time? What  is  mentioned  which  shows  that  light  is  often  reflected  many  times 
before  it  comes  into  the  eye  ? Tell  what  is  said  about  an  assembly  all  looking  at  a 
speaker.  What  effect  has  light  upon  plants  and  animals  ? What  is  said  about  liv- 
ing in  dark  rooms  ? How  long  is  light  in  coming  from  the  sun  ? Give  some  exam- 
ples which  show  that  it  travels  faster  than  sound.  Can  sound  go  as  far  as  light  ? 
From  what  besides  the  sun  does  light  come  ? Tell  about  the  fire-flies — the  spark- 
ling that  we  often  see  in  the  sea — light-wood.  What  is  said  about  phosphorus  ? 


COLOR. 


135 


Why  the  sun’s  light  is  white. 


Made  up  of  seven  colors,  as  Newton  showed. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

COLOR. 

The  light  that  comes  from  the  sun  is,  you  know,  a white  light 
Now  in  this  white  light  are  the  different  colors  of  the  rainbow. 
Indeed,  it  is  these  colors  mixed  together  that  make  the  white 
color  of  the  sun’s  light.  This  was  proved  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton 
in  this  way : He  had  a hole  in  a shutter  through  which  he  let  a 
very  little  of  the  sun’s  light  into  a dark  room.  He  had  a screen 
for  it  to  strike  upon,  and  on  this  it  made  a bright  white  spot.  He 
then  let  it  shine  through  a three-cornered  piece  of  glass,  called  a 
prism.  This  turned  the  ray  of  light  out  of  its  way,  and  made  it 
shine  upon  another  part  of  the  screen ; and,  besides  this,  the  spot 
of  light  on  the  screen,  instead  of  being  round,  as  it  was  before, 
was  now  lengthened  out,  and  had  seven  different  colors  in  it. 

All  this  is  represented  on 
this  figure.  At  O is  the  hole 
in  the  shutter,  and  m is  a 
mirror  by  which  a little  of 
the  bright  sunlight  is  thrown 
into  this  hole.  Without  the 
prism  it  would  go  straight  to 
the  screen,  S r,  and  make  a 
round  white  spot  where  the 


Violet. 

Indigo. 

Blue. 

Green. 

Yellow. 

Orange. 

Red. 


word  white  is.  But  with  the  prism,  P,  the  beam  of  light  is  turn- 


136 


COLOR. 


Colors  in  ice.  The  rainbow.  Colors  in  dew-drops. 

ed  out  of  its  straight  path,  and  is  divided  into  the  different  colors 
as  marked  in  the  figure.  The  reason  that  these  colors  are  seen 
so  distinct  from  each  other  is,  that  they  are  bent  out  of  their  way 
in  different  degrees — the  orange  a little  more  than  the  red,  the 
yellow  a little  more  than  the  orange,  and  so  on,  the  violet  "being 
most  bent  of  all.  You  see  this  represented  on  the  figure. 

This  and  various  other  experiments,  tried  by  Newton  and  oth- 
ers, show  that  the  white  light  of  the  sun  is  not  a simple  thing. 
It  can  be  cut  up,  as  we  may  say,  into  different  parts.  The  glass 
prism  does  this.  You  have  often  seen  it  done  without  thinking 
much  about  it.  You  have  seen  it  done  by  ice.  When  there  has 
been  a rain,  and  the  rain,  as  it  fell,  froze  upon  the  branches  of  the 
trees,  and  the  wind  and  the  sun  have  together  broken  the  ice  on  the 
trees,  and  strewed  the  ground  with  it,  you  have  seen  these  pieces 
of  the  ice  brilliant  with  all  the  colors  into  which  they  have  divided 
the  bright  light  of  the  sun.  It  seemed  as  if  the  ground  was  cov- 
ered with  gems  of  every  hue  ; and  as  you  looked  up  into  the  tree, 
it  seemed  to  you  that  every  twig  also  was  strung  with  gems. 

You  see  the  same  thing  in  the  rainbow.  The  white  light  of  the 
sun  is  separated  by  the  drops  of  rain  into  its  different  colors  just 
as  is  done  by  the  glass  prism,  and  thus  the  bow  is  made.  Ex- 
actly how  this  is  done  you  are  not  old  enough  yet  to  understand. 
What  you  see  in  the  rainbow  and  in  the  scattered  pieces  of  ice  you 
can  also  sometimes  see  in  the  dew-drops  in  the  morning.  They 
sparkle  with  all  the  different  colors.  The  grass  seems  to  be  filled 
with  gems  of  every  variety.  The  drops  of  dew  do  this  by  dividing 
up  the  sunlight,  as  the  drops  of  rain  do  when  the  rainbow  is  made. 


COLOR. 


137 


Black  no  color.  Newton’s  experiments  with  a wheel  and  with  powders. 

Now  see  how  it  is  that  different  things  have  different  colors. 
When  a thing  is  white  it  is  because  all  the  different  parts  or  col- 
ors of  the  light  are  reflected  from  it  to  our  eyes.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  a thing  is  perfectly  black,  it  is  because  none  of  the 
colors  are  reflected.  Black  is,  then,  no  color  at  all,  while  in  white 
all  the  colors  are  mixed  together. 

Newton  proved  that  white  is  a mixture  of  all  colors  in  a very 
pretty  way.  He  made  a wheel,  on  the  edge  of  which  he  painted 
all  the  seven  colors.  When  he  whirled  it  round  very  fast  indeed 
he  could  not  see  the  colors  separate  from  each  other.  The  colors 
all  went  to  his  eye  mixed  up  together,  and  being  mixed,  they 
made  a white  color,  just  as  they  do  in  a beam  of  light.  The  rim 
of  the  wheel  then  looked  to  him  as  if  it  was  white. 

He  proved  the  same  thing  in  another  way.  He  took  powders 
of  these  seven  different  colors,  and  ground  them  together  very  fine- 
ly. The  colors  all  disappeared.  The  mixed  powder  was  almost 
white.  It  would  have  been  entirely  white  if  he  could  have  mixed 
the  powders  as  thoroughly  as  the  colors  are  mixed  by  the  Creator 
in  the  light  of  the  sun. 

But  I have  not  yet  told  you  how  one  thing  looks  green,  anoth- 
er yellow,  another  blue,  etc.  I have  only  told  you  why  one  thing 
is  black  and  another  white.  When  a thing  looks  blue,  it  is  be- 
cause none  but  the  blue  part  of  the  light  is  reflected  to  your  eye. 
All  the  rest  of  the  colors  stop  right  there  in  the  thing.  They  do 
not  bound  off  from  it  as  the  blue  does.  So,  when  a thing  is  green, 
the  green  part  of  the  light  is  reflected  to  your  eye.  When  a thing 
is  orange  color,  the  orange  part  of  the  light  is  reflected,  and  so  om 


138 


COLOR. 


Why  things  have  different  colors  explained. 


If  you  have  pieces  of  glass,  and  let  the  light  come  through 
them,  you  see  the  same  thing  in  another  way.  Light  coming 
through  blue  glass  comes  to  your  eye  blue,  because  all  the  other 
colors  stop  in  the  glass,  while  the  blue  passes  on ; and  light  com- 
ing through  green  glass  is  green  for  the  same  reason. 

Now  what  is  done  with  the  colors  that  stay  in  things  that  they 
come  to  we  do  not  know.  If  a thing  looks  blue,  only  one  color 
out  of  the  whole  seven  in  the  light  is  thrown  off  from  it.  The 
other  six  colors,  red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  indigo,  and  violet,  stop 
right  there  in  the  thing.  What  it  does  with  them  is  a mystery. 
It  puts  them  out  of  sight  in  some  way,  and  sends  only  one  of  the 
seven  colors  to  our  eyes. 

Questions. — What  makes  the  color  of  the  sun’s  light  white  ? How  many  colors 
are  there  in  a ray  of  the  sun  ? Mention  Sir  Isaac  Newton’s  experiment.  Tell  what 
is  represented  by  the  figure.  What  does  the  glass  prism  do  to  the  light  ? Tell 
about  the  colors  of  the  scattered  ice.  How  is  the  rainbow  formed  ? Tell  about  the 
colors  in  the  dew.  When  is  a thing  white  ? When  is  a thing  black  ? Tell  about 
Newton’s  painted  wheel.  Tell  about  his  mixture  of  powders.  Explain  how  it  is 
that  one  thing  is  blue,  another  green,  another  yellow,  etc.  How  is  it  when  light 
comes  through  things,  as  colored  pieces  of  glass.?  What  is  said  about  the  parts  of 
the  light  that  are  not  reflected  by  things  that  we  see  ? 


MORE  ABOUT  COLOR. 


139 


IIow  color  is  made. 


Color  not  a fixed  thing  shown  in  various  ways. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

MOKE  ABOUT  COLOR. 

You  see  that  the  color  of  a thing  is  not  a part  of  the  thing  it- 
self. It  is  something  which  the  thing  throws  off  or  lets  pass 
through  it.  The  color  of  a thing  depends  upon  what  a thing  will 
do  to  the  light  when  the  light  comes  to  it.  It  has  no  color  in  the 
dark.  Its  color  is  made  out  of  the  light  that  shines  on  it. 

Color  is  something  that  is  made  every  moment.  The  color  that 
you  see  now  in  any  thing  is  made  now,  out  of  the  light  that  is 
shining.  If  a piece  of  cloth  looks  blue  to  you,  it  makes  the  blue 
color  out  of  the  light  while  you  are  looking  at.  The  dyer  did  not 
really  make  the  color.  The  dye  that  he  put  it  into  altered  the 
cloth  so  that  it  would  make  a blue  color  go  to  your  eye  from  the 
light  that  comes  to  the  cloth. 

You  have  seen  changeable  silk.  Here  the  colors  change  as  the 
silk  is  moved.  The  reason  is  that,  as  the  light  strikes  it  in  dif- 
ferent ways,  different  parts  of  the  light  are  reflected  from  it,  and 
come  to  our  eyes.  For  the  same  reason,  as  the  hanging  prisms  of 
a chandelier  or  a girandole  move,  you  see  the  colors  in  them  change0 
So  when  the  wind  moves  the  tree  covered  with  ice,  or  blows  along 
the  little  pieces  scattered  on  the  ground,  you  see  the  same  play  of 
colors. 

There  is  another  fact  which  shows  that  color  is  not  a fixed  thing. 
It  changes  with  different  kinds  of  light.  The  light  of  a lamp  or 


140 


MORE  ABOUT  COLOR. 


Variety  of  colors  in  flowers. 


Shading  off  of  colors. 


of  a fire  is  not  exactly  like  the  light  of  the  sun.  It  is  not  so  white, 
and  so  we  very  often  find  that  a thing  which  we  have  looked  at  in 
the  evening  has  quite  a different  color  when  wre  come  to  see  it  by 
the  sunlight.  A piece  of  cloth  that  looks  white  by  candlelight 
may  look  quite  yellow  the  next  morning  by  the  light  of  day. 

I have  told  you  in  Part  First  about  the  great  variety  of  colors 
in  flowers.  All  these  colors  are  made  out  of  the  same  light.  If 
a flower  is  yellow,  it  is  because  the  yellow  part  of  the  light  is  sent 
to  our  eyes,  while  the  flower,  as  we  may  say,  keeps  the  other  six 
colors  to  itself.  Some  flowers  are  more  yellow  than  others.  The 
reason  is  that  they  reflect  more  of  the  yellow  part  of  the  light. 
Some  leaves  are  greener  than  others  because  they  send  to  our  eyes 
more  of  the  green  part  of  the  light. 

In  some  flowers  there  are  different  colors  close  by  each  other. 
In  the  iris  you  have  the  blue  and  the  yellow.  Here  one  part  of 
the  flower  sends  to  your  eye  the  blue  part  of  the  light,  and  anoth- 
er the  yellow  part.  In  some  flowers  you  see  white  close  by  other 
colors.  Thus  one  kind  of  poppy  is  white  except  by  the  edges, 
which  look  as  if  they  had  been  dipped  in  a red  dye.  How  sin- 
gular it  is  that,  while  some  parts  of  the  flower  are  fitted  to  send  to 
your  eye  one  color  alone,  the  other  parts  send  all  the  seven  colors 
mixed  together  so  as  to  make  a white  color ! 

Look,  too,  at  the  gradation  of  colors.  This  is  very  beautiful 
in  some  flowers.  In  some  roses  you  see  the  red  color  shade  off 
into  white.  You  look  at  one  of  its  leaves,  and  see  a part  of  it  that 
is  quite  red,  and  as  your  eye  goes  from  this  part,  the  red  is  less 
and  less  deep,  till  at  the  very  edge  it  is  all  gone.  Now  remember 


MORE  ABOUT  COLOR. 


141 


In  what  sense  colors  are  said  to  come  from  the  sap.  Colors  of  leaves  in  autumn. 


that  the  more  of  the  red  part  of  the  light  is  reflected,  and  the  less 
there  is  of  the  other  parts,  the  greater  is  the  redness,  and  see  how 
wonderful  all  this  is.  How  nicely  must  the  flower  be  made  in 
order  to  give  this  shading  off!  In  the  very  red  part  a great  deal 
of  the  red  color  is  sent  to  our  eyes,  and  none  of  the  other  colors. 
Then  from  the  part  close  by  it  a little  less  of  the  red  is  sent,  and 
a little  of  the  other  colors  mixed  together  is  also  sent ; and  so  on, 
a little  less  and  a little  less  of  the  red,  and  a little  more  and  a lit- 
tle more  of  the  others,  till  at  the  edge  all  the  colors  are  reflected 
so  as  to  make  it  look  white. 

In  Part  First  I told  you  that  the  colors  of  flowers  are  made 
out  of  the  sap,  and  now  in  this  chapter  I have  told  you  that  the 
colors  are  really  made  from  the  light.  It  may  seem  to  you  that 
both  of  these  things  can  not  be  true ; but  while  the  colors  are 
made  from  the  light,  in  one  sense  they  may  also  be  said  to  be  made 
from  the  sap.  The  flowers  are  so  made  out  of  the  sap  that  they 
reflect  the  right  colors  from  the  light  that  comes  to  them.  Thus 
a blue  flower  is  so  made  as  to  reflect  the  blue  part  of  the  light. 
It  is  just  as  blue  cloth  is  fitted  by  the  dye  that  it  is  put  into  to 
reflect  blue  ; and  as  we  say  that  the  dyer  makes  the  cloth  blue  by 
his  dye,  so  we  say  that  the  flower  is  made  blue  from  the  sap. 

I have  told  you  in  Part  First  about  the  change  of  color  in  the 
leaves  in  the  autumn.  All  the  summer  the  leaves  send  the  green 
part  of  the  light  to  your  eyes ; but  when  autumn  comes  there  is 
some  change  made  in  them,  so  that  some  kinds  of  leaves  reflect  the 
red  part  of  the  light,  some  the  yellow,  some  the  orange,  etc. 

I have  told  you  about  the  great  variety  of  colors  in  the  plum- 


142 


MORE  ABOUT  COLOR. 


Colors  of  clouds. 


Play  of  colors  in  changeable  silks,  ice,  &c. 


age  of  birds  and  in  the  coverings  of  insects.  This  variety  is  all 
owing  to  the  different  ways  in  which  the  light  is  reflected.  Some 
reflect  one  of  the  seven  colors  of  the  light,  and  others  some  other 
color.  Some  that  reflect  all  the  colors  of  the  light  are  white,  as 
the  swan ; and  some  that  reflect  none  of  them  look  black,  as  the 
crow. 

. Some  of  the  most  splendid  displays  of  colors’  that  can  be  wit-, 
nessed  we  occasionally  see  in  the  clouds  at  morning  or  evening. 
Now  all  this  is  caused  by  nothing  but  sunlight  and  water,  for  you 
know  that  the  clouds  are  made  up  of  water  in  the  shape  of  fog. 
The  light,  as  we  may  say,  paints  these  gorgeous  colors  upon  the 
drops  of  water  as  they  hang  in  the  air.  The  reason  that  we  see 
these  displays  of  colors  in  the  clouds  only  at  morning  and  evening 
is,  that  the  light  from  the  sun  strikes  them  in  the  right  way  then. 
It  strikes  them  in  such  a way  that  some  of  the  colors  are  reflect- 
ed to  our  eyes,  while  others  are  not.  The  most  common  color  re- 
flected to  our  eyes  by  the  clouds  is  red. 

You  can  see  in  other  things  that  the  color  of  a thing  depends 
on  the  way  in  which  the  light  strikes  it,  and  is  reflected  to  your 
eyes.  You  see  this  in  the  changeable  silk.  As  you  move  it,  the 
light  strikes  it  differently,  and  so  different  colors  are  reflected  to 
your  eyes.  When  you  see  the  ice  scattered  on  the  ground  from 
the  trees  in  winter,  shining  in  the  bright  sun,  you  see  in  one  di- 
rection all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  sparkling  from  the  millions 
of  pieces  of  ice  ; but  if  you  look  in  the  opposite  direction  you  see 
none  of  these  colors,  but  the  ice  looks  white.  Why  is  this  ? It 
is  because  the  light  on  one  side  of  you  strikes  the  ice  and  is  re- 


MORE  ABOUT  COLOR. 


143 


When  and  how  the  rainbow  is  formed. 


fleeted  differently  from  what  it  is  on  the  other  side.  And  you 
know  that  it  is  not  after  every  thunder-shower  that  you  see  a 
rainbow.  The  light  must  strike  the  rain,  and  be  reflected  to  your 
eyes  in  a particular  way,  in  order  to  let  you  see  the  light  divided 
up  in  the  rain  into  its  seven  colors  in  the  bow.  You  never  see  a 
rainbow  if  the  rain  is  in  the  same  direction  with  the  sun.  If  the 
sun  is  in  the  west,  the  rain  must  be  in  the  east  to  have  the  bow 
form  ; so  that  you  are  between  the  sun  and  the  rain,  with  your 
back,  to  the  sun,  as  you  see  the  bow.  Sometimes  a rainbow  is 
seen  in  the  morning,  when  a cloud  comes  from  the  east  and  it 
clears  off  by  the  cloud’s  passing  to  the  west.  But  this  seldom 
happens,  and  the  rainbow  is  commonly  seen  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  day,  the  cloud  coming  from  the  west  and  passing  off  to  the 
east. 

Questions. — What  is  the  color  of  a thing?  Does  the  dyer  make  color?  What 
does  he  do  ? What  is  said  about  changeable  silk  ? Mention  some  other  things  in 
Vvhich  we  see  the  colors  change.  What  is  said  about  the  changes  of  color  in  differ- 
ent kinds  of  light?  How  are  the  different  colors  of  flowers  made?  How  is  it 
when  there  are  different  colors  in  the  same  flower  ? What  is  said  about  the  shad- 
ing off  of  colors  ? In  what  sense  are  the  colors  of  flowers  made  from  the  light  ? 
And  in  what  sense  are  they  made  from  the  sap  ? What  is  said  about  the  change 
of  color  in  leaves  in  autumn  ? What  is  said  about  the  colors  of  birds  and  insects  ? 
Tell  about  the  colors  of  the  clouds.  Why  do  we  see  them  at  morning  and  evening? 
What  is  said  about  the  way  in  which  light  strikes  a thing  and  is  reflected  to  our 
eyes?  Where  and  in  what  part  of  the  day  do  you  commonly  see  the  rainbow? 
Explain  this. 


144 


ELECTRICITY. 


Lightning  in  a cat’s  hack.  Lighting  gas.  Lightning  is  electricity. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

ELECTRICITY. 

When  you  see  the  lightning  in  a thunder-storm,  you  would 
think  it  strange  if  I should  tell  you  that  there  is  lightning  in  ev- 
ery thing  ; but  so  it  is,  as  you  will  see.  Did  you  ever  have  your 
fingers  tingle,  and  hear  a snapping  when  you  stroked  a cat’s  back? 
This  is  because  you  waked  up,  as  we  may  say,  the  lightning  in 
her  fur  and  in  your  hand  together.  There  is  lightning  in  you  as 
well  as  in  the  cat.  It  only  needs  a little  rubbing  to  show  it.  I 
have  known  persons  to  light  the  gas  with  the  lightning  that  is  in 
them  as  readily  as  you  would  with  a match.  They  wake  up  or 
excite  the  lightning  by  walking  across  the  carpet,  rubbing  their 
feet  on  it  as  they  go,  and  then  put  a finger  to  the  open  gas-burner. 
A spark  of  lightning  goes  to  it  from  the  finger  and  lights  the  gas. 

It  is  in  very  clear  cold  weather  that  it  is  most  easy  to  excite 
the  lightning  or  electricity  that  is  in  different  things.  It  is  then 
that  you  can  make  the  cat’s  fur  snap.  Then,  too,  silk  things  will 
snap  when  you  rub  them  or  fold  them  up. 

Though  it  is  really  lightning  that  is  made  by  rubbing  things, 
we  do  not  call  it  so.  We  call  it  electricity.  We  did  not  know 
that  lightning  and  electricity  were  the  same  thing  till  Dr.  Frank- 
lin showed  that  they  were.  He  found  it  out  by  an  experiment 
with  a kite,  which  I will  relate  to  you  after  I have  told  you  some 
other  things  about  electricity' 


ELECTRICITY. 


145 


Description  of  an  electrical  machine. 


You  can  make  electricity  more  easily  by  rubbing  some  things 
than  by  rubbing  others.  I have  already  told  you  how  easily  it 
is  waked  up  on  the  cat’s  back  by  stroking  it.  If  you  rub  a stick 
of  sealing-wax  back  and  forth  rapidly  across  your  coat  sleeve,  you 
wake  up  a good  deal  of  electricity  for  so  small  a thing.  It  is 
shown  in  this  way : If  you  bring  the  sealing-wax  near  some  light 
thing  like  down,  this  will  cling  to  it  for#a  moment,  and  then  fly 
off  again,  as  if  it  did  not  like  the  sealing-wax.  It  is  the  electric 
ity  which  you  have  excited  that  does  this. 

A good  deal  of  electricity  can  be  made  by  rubbing  glass.  In 
the  machine  which  is  used  in  making  electricity  for  experiments 
there  is  a large  glass  cylinder,  which  is  turned  round  quickly 
against  a leather  rubber  that  has  a preparation  of  mercury  on  it. 

In  this  machine,  represented  here, 
a is  the  glass  cylinder,  and  b b are 
the  wheels  by  which  it  is  made  to 
turn  round.  These  wheels  are  work- 
ed by  the  handle  which  you  see  on 
the  lower  one.  The  rubber  is  press- 
ed against  the  glass  cylinder  on  the 
side  of  it  that  you  do  not  see.  You 
can  see  the  standard  that  holds  the  rubber.  At  c is  a piece  of 
oiled  silk  that  is  fastened  to  the  rubber,  and  lies  upon  the  glass 
cylinder,  serving  to  keep  it  free  from  dust.  At  d you  see  a re- 
ceiver, as  it  is  called,  which  receives  the  electricity  as  fast  as  it  is 
produced.  This  is  made  of  brass,  and  has  a glass  standard,  e. 
Now,  as  the  machine  is  worked,  the  electricity  excited  by  the  rub- 

s ' K 


146 


ELECTRICITY. 


Electricity  in  the  receiver. 


How  a person  can  be  a receiver. 


ber  and  tlie  glass  passes  off  continually  to  this  receiver,  and  there 
it  stays  collected  on  the  surface  of  it,  for  it  can  not  go  down  the 
standard.  Why  is  this  ? you  will  ask.  It  is  because  glass, 
though  a very  good  thing  to  make  electricity  with,  is  very  slow 
to  let  the  electricity  pass  over  it.  I shall  tell  you  more  about 
this  soon. 

Well,  here  is  the  electricity  all  over  this  receiver.  It  stays 
there  because  it  can  not  get  away.  It  is  ready  to  go  whenever  it 
can  get  a chance.  You  would  find  this  out  if  you  should  put 
your  finger  near  that  knob  that  you  see  on  the  end  of  the  receiver. 
Almost  all  of  the  electricity  in  the  receiver  would  pass  through 
your  finger  into  your  body,  and  give  you  a shock ; and  if  there 
was  much  electricity  in  the  receiver,  the  shock  would  be  harder 
than  you  would  wish  to  bear. 

Now  a person  can  act  as  a receiver  and  be  charged  with  elec- 
tricity just  as  this  brass  receiver  is.  It  can  be  done  in  this  way. 
The  person  stands  on  a stool,  such  as  you  see  here.  The  top  of 
this,  <2,  is  wood,  and  the  legs,  c,  c , are  glass* 
These  glass  legs  answer  for  him  as  the  glass 
standard  does  for  the  receiver  of  the  machine. 
They  prevent  the  electricity  that  he  gets  from 
passing  off.  If  he  stood  on  the  floor,  it  would  pass  to  the  floor  as 
fast  as  it  came  to  him.  As  he  stands  on  this  stool,  he  holds  in, 
his  hand  a chain  that  is  fastened  to  the  knob  on  the  end  of  the 
brass  receiver.  You  can  see  now  what  will  happen  when  the  ma- 
chine is  worked.  The  electricity  that  goes  from  the  glass  cylinder 
to  the  receiver  does  not  all  stay  there,  but  most  of  it  goes  on 


ELECTRICITY. 


147 


How  electricity  affects  the  hair. 


Bottling  it  up  in  the  Leyden  jar. 


through  the  chain  to  the  person  on  the  stool.  It  can  not  get  from 
him  to  the  floor,  for  the  glass  legs  prevent  this.  Therefore,  after 
working  the  machine  some  time,  he  becomes  filled  with  electricity, 
just  as  the  brass  receiver  does  on  its  glass  standard,  and  you  can 
receive  a shock  from  him,  for  he  is  now  a receiver.  If  you  put 
your  finger  to  his  nose,  or  chin,  or  any  other  part,  the  electricity 
will  pass  to  you  with  a spark,  and  will  give  you  a shock. 

A curious  effect  is  produced  on  the  hair 
when  one  is  thus  charged  with  electricity. 
The  hair  stands  out  straight.  This  effect  is 
seen  in  a very  amusing  way  by  having  a fig- 
ure of  a head  with  hair  on  it  fastened  to  the 
receiver.  The  hair  will  stand  out  as  you  see 
here. 

The  electricity  that  is  collected  on  the  brass 
receiver  can  be  taken  off  and  be  bottled  up, 
as  we  may  say,  so  as  to  be  convenient  for  use.  This  can  be  done 
with  what  is  called  the  Leyden  jar,  as  represented  here.  This  is 
a glass  jar  coated  inside  and  out  with  tin  foil  to  with- 
in a few  inches  of  the  top.  Then  there  is  a knob  on 
the. end  of  a wire  that  extends  down  into  the  jar. 
Now  see  how  we  do  this  bottling  up  of  the  electricity. 
The  knob  of  the  jar  is  held  close  to  the  knob  of  the 
receiver  as  the  machine  is  worked.  The  electricity, 
therefore,  passes  to  the  knob  of  the  jar,  and  by  the 
wire  to  all  the  inside  of  the  jar  where  the  tin  foil  is.  It  can  not 
get  outside,  because  it  can  not  pass  over  or  through  the  glass. 


148 


ELECTRICITY. 


Taking  sliocks  from  the  jar. 


An  electrical  battery. 


So,  then,  the  electricity  is  shut  up  in  the  jar,  but  it  is  ready  to 
come  out  when  it  has  a way  made  for  it  to  come.  If  the  inside 
foil  and  the  outside  foil  be  connected  together  by  something  that 
will  let  the  electricity  pass  through  it,  it  will  come  out  of  the  jar„ 
You  can  be  that  something  if  you  please.  If  you  put  one  hand 
on  the  tin  foil  on  the  outside,  and  touch  the  other  to  the  knob  on 
the  end  of  the  wire,  the  electricity  will  come  out  by  the  wire,  and 
give  you  a shock  in  your  wrists,  and  elbows,  and  chest. 

A great  many  persons  can  take  a shock  in  this  way  at  the  same 
time.  Suppose  there  are  a hundred  persons  standing  in  a ring 
and  taking  hold  of  each  other’s  hands.  Let  there  be  two  in  this 
ring  that  do  not  have  hold  of  each  other.  Now,  if  one  of  these 
touches  the  jar  on  the  outside,  and  the  other  touches  the  knob,  the 
whole  hundred  will  feel  a shock  at  the  same  time,  for  the  electric- 
ity will  go  through  them  all  around  the  whole  ring  as  quick  as 
lightning,  as  we  say ; and  it  is,  in  this  case,  really  so,  for  the  elec- 
tricity is  lightning.  And  so,  when  in  the  telegraph  the  electricity 
passes  along  the  wire,  it  takes  almost  no  time  for  it  to  go  very 
great  distances. 

Sometimes  a great  deal  ot  electricity  is  collected  in  a number 
of  these  jars,  which  are  connected  together  in  such  a way  that 
the  electricity  can  be  discharged  from  them 
all  at  once.  A collection  of  jars  thus 
connected,  as  represented  here,  is  called 
an  electrical  battery.  There  is  need  of 
great  care  in  experimenting  with  a bat- 
tery; for  if,  when  the  jars  are  well  filled, 


ELECTRICITY. 


149 


Electrical  batteries  in  some  animals. 


they  should  all  be  discharged  into  any  one,  he  would  be  killed 
in  the  same  way  that  one  is  who  is  struck  with  lightning. 

You  remember  that  I told  you,  in  Part  Second,  Chapter  XXV., 
that  there  are  some  animals  that  have  electrical  machines  or  bat 
teries  in  them.  There  are  only  a few  such  animals,  and  they  are 
great  curiosities.  They  can  fire  off  their  batteries  when  they 
please,  but  exactly  how  they  do  it  we  do  not  know.  These  bat- 
teries are  more  nicely  and  curiously  made  than  any  that  man 
makes,  and  have  much  more  power.  They  are  so  small  that  it  is 
wonderful  that  they  can  give  such  severe  shocks. 

Questions. — Why  does  the  fur  of  a cat  sometimes  snap  when  it  is  stroked  ? How 
can  some  persons  light  the  gas  by  their  electricity?  When  is  the  best  time  to  wake 
up  electricity  ? Who  discovered  that  lightning  and  electricity  were  the  same  thing  ? 
What  things  will  give  out  electricity  easily  when  rubbed  Describe  the  electrical 
machine.  Why  does  the  electricity  stay  on  the  receiver?  What  will  happen  if 
you  put  your  finger  near  the  knob  on  the  end  of  it?  Tell  how  a person  can  be 
made  to  act  as  a receiver.  Why  can  not  the  electricity  go  from  him  into  the  floor  ? 
Tell  about  taking  shocks  from  him.  What  effect  is  produced  on  his  hair?  Tell 
how  electricity  can  be  bottled  up.  How  can  you  get  it  out  of  the  bottle  again  ? 
Tell  how  a great  many  persons  can  take  a shock  from  the  jar  at  the  same  time. 
What  is  said  about  the  quickness  with  which  electricity  goes  ? What  is  an  elec- 
trical  battery  ? What  is  said  about  electricity  in  some  animals  ? 


150 


MOKE  ABOUT  ELECTRICITY. 


The  supports  of  lightning-rods  and  telegraph  wires. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

MORE  ABOUT  ELECTRICITY. 

Electricity  passes  through  some  things  more  easily  than  it 
does  through  others.  Those  that  it  passes  through  easily  are  said 
to  be  good  conductors  of  electricity.  There  are  some  things  that 
let  so  very  little  pass  through  or  over  them  that  they  are  called 
non-conductors.  Such  are  glass  and  silk.  The  different  metals, 
copper,  silver,  iron,  etc.,  are  good  conductors. 

You  have  seen  how  a lightning-rod  is  fastened  to  a house.  It 
rests  against  pieces  of  wood.  Observe  what  the  object  of  this  is. 
Iron  lets  the  electricity  or  lightning  pass  much  more  easily  than 
the  wood  does.  Now,  if  the  rod  was  fastened  to  the  house  by  iron 
supports,  the  lightning,  as  it  came  down  the  rod,  might  go  mto  the 
house  by  some  of  these  supports,  instead  of  going  down  by  the  rod 
into  the  ground. 

The  iron  is  called  a good  conductor,  while  the  wood  is  a poor 
conductor.  Glass  is  a poorer  conductor  still.  It  is  so  poor  a 
conductor  that  it  is  called  a non-conductor,  as  I have  before  told 
you.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  telegraph  wires  are  fastened 
to  glass  knobs  on  the  posts.  The  object  is  to  have  all  the  elec- 
tricity go  along  on  the  wires,  and  not  let  any  of  it  escape  down 
the  posts.  If  a very  little  of  it  should  escape  down  each  post,  by 
the  time  it  came  to  the  end  of  the  journey  there  might  not  be 
enough  left  to  do  any  good. 


MORE  ABOUT  ELECTRICITY. 


151 


Dr.  Frafiklin  experimenting  with  his  kite. 


Silk,  I have  told  you,  is  one  of  the  non-conductors.  Dr.  Frank- 
lin made  use  of  silk  in  the  experiment  by  which  he  discovered 
that  lightning  and  electricity  are  the  same  thing.  He  managed 


in  this  way : He  made  his  kite  of  a large  silk  handkerchief  in- 
stead of  paper.  He  had  on  it  a pointed  iron  wire,  and  the  string 
of  the  kite  was  fastened  to  this  wire.  This  kite  he  sent  up  in  a 
thunder-storm,  when  there  was  a plenty  of  electricity  in  the  clouds. 


152 


MORE  ABOUT  ELECTRICITY. 


How  Dr.  Franklin  drew  the  lightning  down  from  the  clouds. 

The  iron  wire  would  of  course  receive  some  of  the  electricity,  and 
it  would  not  go  from  the  wire  to  the  kite,  because  that  was  made 
of  silk,  which,  you  know,  is  a non-conductor.  It  would  go  down 
the  string,  this  being  tied  to  the  wire.  Passing  down  the  string, 
it  would  go  to  Dr.  Franklin’s  hand,  and  down  his  body  into  the 
earth.  It  would  do  this  silently,  because  it  would  keep  going  a 
little  at  a time  all  the  while.  But  he  managed  to  prevent  the 
electricity  from  coming  to  his  hand.  He  stopped  it  on  the  way. 
He  did  this  by  tying  a silk  ribbon  to  the  hemp  string,  and  hold- 
ing the  kite  by  this  ribbon,  as  you  see  in  the  picture.  The  elec- 
tricity could  not  go  through  this  silk,  and  so  it  staid  in  the  hemp 
string. 

Dr.  Franklin  now  fastened  a key  to  the  end  of  the  hemp  string. 
A great  deal  of  the  electricity  now  passed  to  the  key,  because  the 
metal  of  which  the  key  was  made  was  so  good  a conductor.  It 
was  a much  better  conductor  than  the  string,  and  so  the  electric- 
ity, as  we  may  say,  spread  all  over  it.  It  was  a real  receiver  of 
the  electricity,  like  the  brass  receiver  of  the  electrical  machine. 
Accordingly,  when  Franklin  put  his  knuckle  near  the  key,  he  re- 
ceived a shock  from  it,  just  as  one  does  from  the  knob  of  the  brass 
receiver.  After  a little  time  it  began  to  rain,  and  then  the  shocks 
were  harder.  The  reason  was,  that  the  string,  when  wet,  was  a 
better  conductor  than  when  dry,  and  so  the  electricity  came  on  it 
faster  to  the  key. 

In  this  way  Dr.  Franklin  drew  the  lightning  down  from  the 
clouds  in  so  small  a quantity  that  he  could  find  out  what  it  was. 
He  found  that  it  was  just  the  same  as  the  electricity  that  we 


MORE  ABOUT  ELECTRICITY. 


153 


Wliat  Franklin  proved.  Suggested  the  use  of  lightning-rods. 

make  by  the  electrical  machine,  and  he  could  bottle  it  up  in  the 
same  way  that  we  do  the  electricity  from  the  brass  receiver.  This 
he  could  do  by  holding  the  Leyden  jar  with  its  brass  knob  to  the 
key.  The  electricity  would  go  into  it  just  as  it  does  from  the  re- 
ceiver when  we  are  working  the  machine. 

Before  Franklin  tried  this  experiment  with  his  kite  it  was  sup- 
posed that  the  lightning  was  electricity,  but  it  was  only  supposi- 
tion. No  one  knew  that  it  was  so.  It  was  never  proved  till 
Franklin  sent  up  his  silk  kite  to  find  out  about  it.  It  was  sup- 
posed that  lightning  was  electricity  simply  because  the  effects  of 
lightning  were  similar  to  the  effects  of  the  electricity  of  the  ma- 
chine when  a great  deal  of  this  electricity  was  made.  Experi- 
ments were  tried  which  showed  that  the  machine  electricity,  when 
there  was  enough  of  it,  tore  things  to  pieces,  and  killed  animals, 
just  as  lightning  does ; but  the  difficulty  was  that  no  one  had 
ever  seen  what  a little  of  the  lightning  would  do.  This  Franklin 
found  out  by  bringing  some  of  it  down  out  of  the  clouds  by  the 
string  of  his  kite,  and  bottling  it  up  for  use  in  the  Leyden  jar. 
Before  his  experiments  nothing  was  known  about  lightning  except 
as  it  was  seen  in  large  quantities  going  from  cloud  to  cloud,  or 
coming  down  to  the  earth  and  shivering  a tree,  or  plowing  up  the 
ground,  or  perhaps  killing  some  animal  or  some  man.  Nothing 
was  known  of  it  in  a small  way  until  Franklin  showed  us  so  much 
about  it  by  his  experiments. 

It  was  these  experiments  of  Dr.  Franklin  that  suggested  the 
use  of  lightning-rods.  These  rods  protect  houses  in  two  ways. 
One  way  is  this : If  the  lightning  comes  down  directly  toward  a 


154 


MORE  ABOUT  ELECTRICITY. 


Lightning-rods  protect  in  two  ways. 


Use  of  the  points  on  them. 


house  in  a considerable  quantity,  instead  of  striking  the  house,  it 
will  go  down  the  rod  into  the  ground.  Another  way  in  which  the 
rod  affords  protection  is  this  : Sometimes  the  lightning  or  electric- 
ity goes  down  the  rod  from  the  clouds  above  in  a continual  stream 
of  very  small  quantity,  just  as  it  went  down  the  string  of  Frank- 
lin’s kite.  A cloud  with  a great  deal  of  electricity  in  it  often  has 
it  discharged  in  this  quiet  way. 

You  know  that  there  are  points  on  the  ends  of  lightning-rods. 
These  are  to  receive  the  electricity.  It  will  go  to  them  better  than 
it  would  to  a blunt  rod.  We  know  that  this  is  so  in  working  the 
electrical  machine  described  on  page  145.  Instead  of  haviug  sim- 
ply the  blunt  end  of  the  receiver  near  the  rubber,  there  are  points 
on  that  end  of  it  to  receive  the  electricity  as  fast  as  it  is  made. 

Questions. — What  things  are  called  good  conductors  of  electricity?  What  are 
called  non-conductors  ? Why  are  lightning-rods  supported  against  a building  by 
pieces  of  wood  ? Why  are  telegraph  wires  fastened  to  glass  knobs  on  the  posts  ? 
How  did  Franklin  make  his  kite  ? Why  did  he  make  it  of  silk  instead  of  paper? 
How  did  he  prevent  the  electricity  that  came  down  the  string  from  going  through 
him  into  the  ground?  Why  was  the  key  so  good  a receiver  of  electricity?  Tell 
about  his  taking  shocks  from  it.  Why  were  the  shocks  stronger  after  it  began  to 
rain?  How  did  he  bottle  up  the  electricity  that  he  thus  drew  from  the  clouds? 
Why  was  it  supposed  before  his  experiment  that  electricity  and  lightning  were  the 
same  thing?  Why  was  it  not  known  to  be  so?  In  what  two  ways  do  lightning, 
rods  protect  houses  ? Why  are  lightning-rods  pointed  ? 


MAGNETISM. 


155 


The  loadstone. 


How  common  magnets  are  made. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

MAGNETISM. 

In  some  parts  of  the  world  a kind  of  iron  ore  is  found  which  is 
called  loadstone.  It  has  a peculiar  power.  It  attracts  iron  very 
strongly.  Hold  it  close  to  some  iron  filings,  and  they  will  cling  to 
it  in  quite  a cluster  as  you  raise  it  up ; so,  also,  you  can  take  up 
with  it  a great  many  needles,  and  if  it  be  a large  piece  of  the  ore, 
it  will  hold  up  a very  heavy  weight.  This  power  which  the  load- 
stone has  we  call  magnetism. 

Now  this  power  in  the  loadstone  can  be  communicated  to  iron 
and  steel.  If  a loadstone  be  moved  along  in  a particular  way  on 
a piece  of  iron  or  steel  several  times,  the  iron  or  steel  will  receive 
this  power,  and  will  act  as  a magnet,  just  as  the  loadstone  does. 
Common  iron  will  not  keep  the  power  long,  but  steel  will. 

Most  of  the  magnets  that  we  see  sue  not 
real  loadstone,  but  they  are  steel  that  has  been 
magnetized  by  the  loadstone.  They  are  com 
monly  made  in  a horse-shoe  shape,  as  repre' 
sented  here.  They  will  hold  up  a considera- 
ble weight  of  iron,  and  sometimes  twenty-eight 
times  their  own  weight ; and  it  is  curious  that 
a magnet  which  holds  a weight  all  the  time 
will  have  its  power  increased.  There  is  no 
tiring  out  of  its  power ; and,  on  the  contrary. 


156 


MAGNETISM. 


Toy  fishes  and  ducks  moved  by  a magnet.  Strangeness  of  the  magnetic  power. 


if  you  give  a magnet  nothing  to  do,  its  power  will  grow  weak — it 
will  not  be  able  to  hold  up  so  much  weight  as  it  did  at  first.  It 
is  for  this  reason  that  magnets  are  never  left  without  a weight 
hanging  to  them. 

You  have  perhaps  often  been  amused  in  making  toy  fishes  or 
ducks  swim  about  in  the  water  with  a little  magnet.  You  have 
seen  how  readily  they  follow  the  magnet,  and  how  quickly  they 
spring  forward  to  hold  on  to  it,  if  you  happen  to  put  it  very  near 
them.  This  is  because  each  has  a little  piece  of  steel  in  its  mouth 
which  is  attracted  by  the  magnet. 

How  very  strange  this  power  of  the  magnet  is ! It  is  not  any 
thing  that  you  can  see,  and  yet  there  the  power  is.  You  see  what 
it  does.  This  unseen  power  in  the  magnet  takes  hold  of  things 
and  draws  them  to  it,  as  our  hand,  that  we  see,  takes  hold  of 
things  and  draws  them  to  us.  How  it  does  this  we  do  not  un- 
derstand. 

This  power  does  not  seem  to  do  much  at  any  distance  from  the 
magnet.  If  you  hold  your  little  magnet  quite  away  from  the  toy 
duck  or  fish,  it  will  not  make  it  move  ; but  bring  it  near,  and  now 
you  see  it  follows  the  magnet  all  about ; and  if  you  bring  it  very 
near,  the  little  thing,  as  quick  as  a wink,  darts  forward  and  clings 
to  the  magnet  very  firmly.  So,  too,  if  you  bring  an  iron  weight 
slowly  nearer  and  nearer  to  a large  magnet,  there  does  not  seem 
to  be  any  influence  from  the  magnet  upon  it  till  you  bring  it  very 
near,  and  then  all  at  once  away  goes  the  weight  out  of  your  hand 
to  cling  to  the  magnet.  It  is  as  if  the  magnet  had  very  short 
hands  that  could  not  reach  far ; but  so  far  as  they  do  reach,  they 


MAGNETISM. 


157 


The  mariner’s  compass.  How  to  make  one  in  a simple  way. 

are  very  strong  and  hold  fast.  Whenever  you  get  a chance  to  see 
a magnet  of  considerable  size,  you  can  try  this  experiment. 

You  have  heard  of  the  mariner’s  compass,  but  perhaps  it  has 
never  been  explained  to  you.  There  is  a slender  piece  of  steel  in 
this  compass  which  always  points  to  the  north.  - It  is  balanced 
on  a pivot,  so  that  it  can  move  around  easily  to  the  one  side  or 
the  other.  However  much  it  is  jostled,  however  much  you  may 
turn  the  box  of  the  compass  round,  this  needle  is  always  trem- 
blingly but  surely  pointing  one  way.  This  needle  is  a magnet- 
ized piece  of  steel.  We  may  consider  the  whole  earth,  with  all 
its  loadstone  and  iron,  as  a great  magnet,  and  it  is  the  influence  of 
the  earth  upon  the  magnetic  needle  that  makes  it  always  point  to 
the  north.  You  can  at  any  time  make  a mariner’s  compass  in  a 
very  simple  way.  All  that  you  need  is  a magnetized  needle,  a 
piece  of  cork,  and  a bowl  of  water.  Put  the  cork  in  the  water, 
and  lay  the  needle  across  it,  and  the  needle  will  point  north  and 
south.  You  see  how  this  is.  The  cork  moves  so  readily  in  the 
water  that  the  needle  in  getting  right  can  turn  it  as  is  needed.  It 
will  turn  almost  as  easily  as  the  needle  does  on  its  pivot  in  the 
compasses  that  are  made. 

The  mariner’s  compass,  you  can  see,  must  be  of  great  use  to  the 
mariner.  When  he  is  far  out  at  sea,  where  no  land  can  be  seen, 
he  always  knows  by  this  which  way  north  is,  and  so  he  judges 
how  to  direct  his  vessel  in  order  to  reach  the  desired  port.  If  it 
were  always  sunshine,  he  would  do  very  well  without  the  com- 
pass, for  he  could  tell  by  the  sun  which  way  was  north,  and 
south,  and  east,  and  west ; but  in  stormy  weather  and  in  the 


158 


MAGNETISM. 


St.  Paul’s  voyage. 


Electricity  and  magnetism  in  the  telegraph. 


night  he  would  be  at  a loss.  At  such  times,  by  looking  at  his 
ever  faithful  compass,  he  knows  in  what  direction  to  steer  his 
vessel.  You  remember  about  the  voyage  and  shipwreck  of  the 
apostle  Paul,  related  in  the  27th  chapter  of  Acts.  Nothing  was 
known  about  the  mariner’s  compass  then.  So  “ when  neither  sun 
nor  stars  in  many  days  appeared,”  they  did  not  know  all  this  time 
where  the  wind  was  carrying  them.  Perhaps  if  they  had  had  a 
compass  on  board  they  could  have  kept  the  ship  from  going  ashore 
and  being  dashed  to  pieces. 

Magnetism  often  has  a great  deal  to  do  with  electricity,  and 
some  persons  suppose  them  to  be  the  same  thing.  Electricity 
may  wake  up  the  magnetic  power  to  even  a wonderful  degree.  In 
Morse’s  telegraph  there  are  both  electrical  machinery  and  magnet- 
ic machinery.  The  electricity  that  comes  over  the  wires  excites 
the  magnetic  machinery,  and  it  is  this  magnetism  that  delivers  the 
message  sent  by  the  electricity.  Just  how  this  operates  you  can 
understand  better  when  you  are  a little  older. 

Questions. — What  is  loadstone  ? What  peculiar  power  has  it  ? To  what  can  it 
communicate  this  power?  What  are  the  magnets  in  common  use?  Why  is  a 
weight  always  kept  hanging  to  a magnet?  Tell  about  the  toy  fishes  and  ducks. 
What  is  said  about  the  strangeness  of  the  magnetic  power?  Does  it  do  much  at 
any  distance  from  the  magnet?  Give  the  illustrations.  What  is  the  mariner’s 
compass  ? How  can  you  make  one  ? What  makes  the  needle  always  point  to  the 
north?  How  is  the  mariner’s  compass  of  use  at  sea?  Tell  about  St.  Paul’s  ship- 
wreck. What  effect  does  electricity  often  produce  upon  magnetism  ? How  is  it 
in  Morse’s  telegraph  ? 


GRAVITATION. 


159 


How  it  is  known  that  the  earth  is  round. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

GRAVITATION. 

If  I should  ask  you  why  things  in  the  air  fall  to  the  ground, 
you  would  probably  say  it  is  because  it  is  downward,  and  every 
thing  must  come  down  that  is  not  held  up  in  some  way.  But 
what  is  down,  and  what  is  up  ? This  I will  explain  to  you. 

The  earth,  as  perhaps  you  know,  is  as  round  as  an  orange,  and 
people  can  travel  around  it  just  as  you  can  pass  your  finger  around 
over  the  orange.  This,  indeed,  was  one  of  the  ways  in  which  it 
was  found  to  be  round.  Another  proof  of  its  being  round  is  this  : 
As  you  see  a ship  go  out  to  sea,  if  you  watch  it  for  a long  time, 
after  a while  the  body  of  the  ship  will  go  out  of  sight,  and  you 
will  see  nothing  but  the  sails,  and  then  the  sails  will  gradually  go 
out  of  sight  also.  What  does  this  prove  ? Why,  that  the  water 
is  not  flat,  as  it  appears  to  be  to  us,  but  that  it  makes  a part  of 
the  rounded  surface  of  the  earth.  This  figure  will  make  this  plain 

to  you.  The  eye 
that  is  represented 
sees  the  whole  ship 
at  b / but  when  it 
gets  as  far  as  a,  the 
eye  can  see  only  the 

streamer  at  the  top  of  the  mast. 

The  reason  that  we  do  not  see  that  the  earth  is  round  is  that 


160 


GRAVITATION. 


Wliat  is  up  and  what  is  down. 


Figure  illustrating  this. 


we  are  so  small  and  the  earth  is  so  large.  We  see  that  a globe 
is  round,  but  it  probably  seems  flat  to  any  little  fly  that  lights 
upon  it,  just  as  the  earth  does  to  us. 

You  can  see,  then,  that  as  the  earth  is  round,  what  is  down  to 
people  on  the  other  side  of  the  earth  is  up  to  us.  If  a boy  there 
throw  up  a ball  at  the  same  time  that  you  throw  up  one  here,  the 
two  balls  fall  toward  each  other  when  they  come  to  the  ground. 

What  we  call  down,  then,  is  simply  toward  the  ground,  or,  rath- 
er, it  is  toward  the  middle  of  the  earth,  for  we  say  down  in  a well 
or  down  in  the  ground.  Indeed,  if  any  thing  could  keep  on  in 
the  same  line  in  which  it  fails,  it  wTould  go  right  to  the  centre  of 
the  earth.  If  the  ball  which  you  throw  up  and  the  ball  thrown 
up  by  a boy  on  the  other  side  of  the  earth  should  keep  on  in  the 
q ground  in  the  same  direction  that  they  fall, 

they  would  meet  exactly  at  the  earth’s  cen- 
tre.  This  is  represented  in  this  figure.  The 
circle  represents  the  round  earth.  The  lines 
\ drawn  from  the  two  falling  balls  to  the  mid-' 
© die  of  the  circle  show  how  they  would  come 

j together  at  the  centre  of  the  earth  if  they 
\ / could  keep  on,  instead  of  being  stopped  when 

they  reach  the  ground.  And  all  the  things 
that  are  falling  any  where  on  the  earth  are 
© going  toward  the  same  point. 

Now  why  is  this  ? What  is  it  that  makes  things  in  the  air 
come  to  the  ground  when  they  are  not  held  up  ? They  do  not 
come  down  of  themselves.  They  are  drawn  down.  The  earth 


GRAVITATION. 


161 


Attraction  not  a thing  that  we  can  see. 


attracts  or  draws  them.  How  it  does  this  we  do  not  know.  We 
can  not  see  how  it  is  done,  but  the  earth  does  it  as  really  as  if  we 
could  see  it  put  up  a hand  and  pull  things  down. 

There  are  other  kinds  of  attraction  that  operate  in  a way  that 
we  can  not  see  nor  understand.  There  is  the  attraction  of  mag- 
netism. If,  as  I have  told  you  in  the  last  chapter,  you  bring  a 
magnet  toward  a piece  of  iron  or  steel,  for  example  a needle,  when 
you  get  it  quite  near,  all  at  once  the  needle  will  go  to  the  magnet 
and  stick  to  it.  You  can  not  see  any  thing  between  the  magnet 
and  the  needle  to  draw  the  needle  to  it.  You  only  know  that  the 
needle  is  drawn  or  attracted,  but  you  do  not  know  how  this  is  done. 

It  is  just  so  with  this  attraction  which  the  earth  has  for  all 
things,  drawing  them  to  it.  You  can  not  see  any  thing  any  more 
than  you  can  in  the  case  of  the  magnet  and  the  needle,  but  the  at- 
traction is  as  real  as  if  you  could  see  it.  You  can  see  what  it 
does,  as  you  can  see  what  is  done  by  the  attraction  of  magnetism. 

This  attraction  is  called  the  attraction  of  gravitation.  It  is 
stronger  with  some  things  than  it  is  with  others.  When  any 
thing  is  drawn  strongly  to  the  earth*  we  say  that  it  is  very  heavy ; 
but  when  a thing  is  not  strongly  attracted,  we  say  that  it  is  light. 
When  you  take  hold  of  a stone  to  raise  it  up,  you  have  this  at- 
traction of  the  earth  acting  against  you.  This  is  pulling  the  stone 
down  while  your  muscles  are  trying  to  raise  it.  If  the  stone  is 
very  large,  the  earth  attracts  it  so  strongly  that  the  force  of  your 
muscles  can  not  overcome  the  attraction.  If  the  earth  would  only 
stop  pulling  upon  the  stone,  you  could  raise  it  easily  enough. 

You  see,  then,  what  weight  is.  It  is  the  pressure  made  by  a 

s L 


162 


GKAV ITATION. 


Attraction  the  cause  of  weight. 

thing  as  the  earth  draws  or  attracts  it  to  itself.  The  stronger  this 
attraction  is,  the  greater  is  the  pressure — that  is,  the  weight.  If 
you  lay  a foot-ball  upon  your  foot,  you  scarcely  feel  the  pressure 
of  it ; but  if  you  lay  a stone  of  the  same  size  upon  your  foot,  it 
presses  very  hard.  The  reason  is,  that  the  stone  is  drawn  toward 
the  earth  much  more  strongly  than  the  foot-ball.  The  foot-ball 
is  drawn  lightly,  and  so  presses  a little ; but  the  stone  is  drawn 
much,  and  so  presses  a great  deal.  Your  foot,  being  between  the 
stone  and  the  earth,  is  pressed  by  the  stone  as  the  earth  draws  it 
to  itself.  It  is  just  as  you  would  be  pressed  if  you  were  between 
me  and  some  one  that  I was  drawing  toward  me. 

The  reason  that  the  stone  is  attracted  more  strongly,  or  has 
more  weight,  than  the  foot-ball  is,  that  there  is  more  substance  to 
it — that  is,  the  particles  in  it  are  closer  together.  So  lead  or  iron 
is  heavier  than  wood,  because  the  wood  is  much  more  porous : 
you  can  see  pores  and  spaces  in  It,  while  you  can  not  in  the 
lead  and  iron.  You  remember  what  I told  you  about  the  hot-air 
balloon.  This  has  not  as  much  weight  as  it  would  have  if  it  were 
full  of  cold  air.  The  reason  is,  that  the  particles  of  cold  air  are 
closer  together  than  the  particles  of  hot  air ; for,  you  know,  heat 
swells  air — that  is,  it  puts  its  particles  farther  apart. 

If  you  drop  a bag  of  feathers,  it  falls  to  the  ground  because  the 
earth  attracts  it.  If,  now,  you  drop  a stone  upon  this  bag,  it  sinks 
down  in  the  midst  of  it,  because  the  earth  attracts  it  much  more 
strongly  than  it  does  the  loose  feathers.  It  is  for  the  same  reason 
that  a stone  sinks  in  water.  The  earth  attracts  the  stone  more 
than  it  does  the  water. 


GRAVITATION. 


163 


Why  light  things  rise  in  the  air  and  in  the  water. 

Wood  will  not  sink  in  water  as  the  stone  does,  for  it  is  not 
drawn  down  to  the  earth  as  hard  as  the  water  is ; but  wood  will 
fall  through  air  to  the  ground,  because  the  wood  is  attracted  by 
the  earth  more  strongly  than  the  air  is.  If  you  put  a block  of 
wood  down  in  the  water,  and  then  let  it  go,  it  rises  to  the  surface. 
Why  is  this  ? It  is  because  the  water,  being  more  strongly  drawn 
down  by  the  earth  than  the  wood,  pushes  the  wood  up  out  of  the 
way.  It  is  for  the  same  reason  that  the  balloon  filled  with  hot  air 
or  with  light  gas  rises.  It  is  not  attracted  to  the  earth  as  much  as 
the  cool  air  around  it  is,  and  so  it  is  pushed  up  out  of  the  way. 

Every  thing,  you  see,  then,  is  attracted  by  the  earth.  The  air 
itself  is  kept  close  to  the  earth  by  this  attraction.  It  makes  a 
sea,  as  we  may  say,  all  around  the  earth  about  forty-five  miles 
deep.  Beyond  that  there  is  no  air  except  around  some  of  the  oth- 
er worlds  that  we  see  far  off  in  the  sky.  Now  the  air  would  fly 
off  and  spread  every  where  among  the  stars  if  the  earth  did  not 
attract  it  and  thus  keep  it  around  itself.  The  air  moves  about 
freely  like  the  water,  but  it  can  not  fly  away  from  the  earth  any 
more  than  the  water  can.  The  earth  keeps  both  its  air  and  water 
all  to  itself  by  attraction. 

Every  thing  gets  as  close  to  the  earth  as  it  can,  because  every 
thing  is  attracted  by  the  earth.  There  is  nothing  that  is  of  itself 
disposed  to  go  up,  but  every  thing,  even  the  air,  is  pressing  down, 
the  heaviest  always  getting.the  lowest  if  it  can,  and  there  is  some- 
times a sort  of  strife  as  to  which  shall  be  lowest.  When  a stone 
is  put  upon  a heap  of  feathers,  the  earth  pulls  upon  it  so  much 
harder  than  it  does  on  the  feathers  that  the  stone  presses  to  get 


164 


GRAVITATION. 


Every  thing  tries  to  get  as  close  to  the  earth  as  possible. 


through  them  to  the  earth ; but  as  it  can  not  thrust  them  out  of 
the  way,  it  crushes  them  down  in  the  struggle  to  get  below  them. 
The  struggle  is  a different  one  with  the  stone  in  water.  The  wa- 
ter  clings  to  the  earth,  but  it  is  easily  pushed  away  by  the  stone 
as  it  tries  to  get  below  the  water.  Even  in  the  going  up  of  a 
balloon  you  can  see  the  same  struggle.  It  would  stay  down  if  it 
could.  It  goes  up,  as  I have  before  told  you,  simply  because  the 
cold  air  about  it,  being  more  strongly  attracted  by  the  earth  than 
the  balloon  is,  tries  to  get  below  the  balloon.  If  the  cold  air  could 
be  taken  away,  the  balloon  would  stay  down,  for  the  same  reason 
that  a block  of  wood  would  remain  in  the  bottom  of  a bowl  if  there 
were  no  water  in  it.  The  block,  attracted  by  the  earth,  will  stay 
as  near  the  earth  as  it  can.  The  water  pushes  it  up  because  it  is 
attracted  by  the  earth  more  than  the  block  is,  and  for  the  same 
reason  the  air  pushes  up  the  balloon. 

Questions. — What  is  the  common  idea  about  the  falling  of  things  to  the  ground  ? 
What  is  one  of  the  proofs  that  the  earth  is  round?  What  is  another  proof? 
Why  can  not  we  see  that  the  earth  is  round  ? What  is  meant  by  down  and  up  ? 
Tell  what  is  represented  by  the  figure.  What  is  it  that  makes  things  fall  to  the 
ground  ? Give  the  comparison  about  the  attraction  of  magnetism.  What  is  said 
about  the  earth’s  attracting  some  things  more  strongly  than  others?  What  is 
weight  ? Explain  by  telling  about  the  foot-ball  and  the  stone.  Why  is  the  stone 
attracted  more  strongly  than  the  foot-ball?  Why  are  lead  and  iron  heavier  than 
wood?  Why  is  a hot-air  balloon  lighter  than  the  air  around  it?  Tell  about  the 
feathers  and  the  stone.  Why  will  not  wood  sink  in  water  as  stone  does  ? Give 
the  comparison  between  the  block  of  wood  and^the  balloon.  What  is  said  about 
the  earth’s  attracting  the  air?  Is  there  any  thing  that  does  not  press  down? 
Which  always  gets  the  lowest  if  it  can  ? Tell  about  the  stone  put  on  the  feathers 
and  dropped  in  the  water.  Give  the  comparison  between  the  balloon  and  the  block 
of  wood  in  a bowl. 


THE  MOTION  OF  THE  EARTH. 


165 


Why  a ball  thrown  up  comes  down. 


Matter  can  not  move  itself  or  stop  itself. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  MOTION  OF  THE  EARTH. 

When  a boy  throws  a ball  up  into  the  air,  he  thinks  that  it 
comes  down  of  itself.  He  thinks  that  it  comes  down  merely  be- 
cause the  force  with  which  he  sent  it  up  is  spent  or  lost ; but  this 
is  not  so.  It  is  pulled  down.  The  earth  pulls  it  down.  The 
earth  is  pulling  upon  it  all  the  time  as  it  goes  up,  and  gradually 
overcomes  the  force  with  which  he  threw  it  up. 

There  is  another  thing  that  helps  to  overcome  the  force  by 
which  the  ball  is  sent  up.  It  is  the  resistance  of  the  air.  As 
the  ball  goes  up,  it  has  to  spend  a part  of  its  force  in  pushing  the 
air  away  to  make  a path  for  itself. 

These  two  things — the  pulling  of  the  earth  and  the  resistance 
of  the  air — gradually  stop  the  going  up  of  the  ball.  If  there  was 
no  air,  and  if  the  earth  would  let  the  ball  go,  instead  of  drawing 
upon  it,  it  would  not  come  down.  It  would  fly  off  out  of  sight ; 
and  more  than  that,  it  would  never  stop  till  something  stopped  it. 
It  could  never  stop  of  itself. 

This,  perhaps,  seems  strange  to  you ; but  look  at  it.  A ball, 
you  know,  has  no  power.  It  lies  still  if  you  do  not  touch  it.  It 
can  not  move  itself,  and,  for  the  same  reason,  it  can  not  stop  it- 
self. Once  set  it  agoing,  and  it  would  move  on  forever  if  it  was 
not  stopped  by  something. 

This  is  true  of  all  matter  that  is  not  alive.  You  can  set  your- 


166 


THE  MOTION  OF  THE  EARTH. 


How  fast  the  earth  moves.  Why  it  does  not  seem  to  us  to  move. 

self  in  motion,  and  stop  yourself,  for  you  are  alive ; but  common 
dead  matter  can  do  neither.  It  moves  because  it  is  moved,  and 
it  stops  because  it  is  stopped  by  something. 

Now  the  earth  is  a ball  that  is  always  moving.  It  never  stops 
for  an  instant,  but  is  all  the  time  rolling  on  around  and  around 
the  sun.  God  a long  time  ago  set  it  agoing,  and  it  never  has  been 
still  since.  It  takes  a year  for  it  to  go  round  the  sun ; and  how 
fast  do  you  think  it  goes  ? About  68,000  miles  an  hour — that  is, 
over  a thousand  miles  every  minute.  This  is  two  thousand  times 
as  fast  as  the  cars  go  when  they  are  going  very  fast  indeed. 
What  a ride  we  are  taking  on  this  round  ball  of  earth ! 

But  you  will  ask  why  it  is  that  we  do  not  feel  any  thing  of  this 
motion,  or  know  something  about  it,  just  as  we  do  about  the  mo- 
tion of  traveling.  The  reason  of  this  is  very  easily  seen.  Just 
observe  how  it  is  that  you  know  about  the  motion  in  traveling. 
You  see  trees,  houses,  fences,  etc.,  as  you  pass  by  them.  You 
feel  the  air  as  you  go  through  it.  If  the  motion  is  uneven,  you 
feel  it.  It  is  by  these  things  that  you  know  that  you  are  moving 
along.  But  as  we  are  carried  along  on  the  earth  as  it  goes  around 
the  sun,  there  are  none  of  these  things  to  let  us  know  that  we  are 
moving.  Every  thing  goes  along  with  us — trees,  houses,  fences, 
and  every  thing  else.  We  do  not  go  through  the  air,  but  the  air 
goes  along  with  us.  Then,  too,  the  motion  is  very  even.  The 
earth  is  not  jostled  and  jarred  in  its  course. 

Sometimes,  when  you  are  riding  in  the  cars,  you  hardly  seem 
to  move  at  all,  though  you  may  be  really  going  very  fast.  The 
reason  of  this  is  plain.  First,  the  motion  is  very  even ; then  the 


THE  MOTION  OF  THE  EARTH. 


167 


Illustrations  from  the  motion  of  cars  in  traveling. 

air  tliat  is  in  the  car  goes  along  with  you,  though  the  air  that  is 
outside  does  not ; and  the  people  in  the  car  that  you  are  looking  at 
are  going  along  with  you  also. 

But  the  moment  you  look  out  of  the  car  window  you  know  that 
the  cars  are  going  quite  rapidly,  because  you  see  that  you  are  go- 
ing so  fast  by  the  trees  and  houses.  So,  too,  if  the  cars  come  to 
a place  where  the  rails  are  not  so  even,  the  irregular  motion  lets 
you  know  that  you  are  going  fast.  Sometimes,  when  you  seem 
to  be  going  along  quite  moderately,  because  the  rails  are  so  even 
and  the  road  is  so  straight,  all  at  once  you  seem  to  be  twitched 
along  with  a very  sudden,  quick  start.  It  seems  to  you  as  if  the 
cars  suddenly  went  a great  deal  faster,  but  it  is  not  so.  The  cars 
are  really  moving  no  faster  than  before.  A turn  in  the  road  makes 
it  seem  so,  because  it  makes  the  motion  irregular  instead  of  even. 

Now,  if  the  motion  of  the  cars  were  perfectly  even,  and  you  did 
not  look  out,  you  would  not  know  that  they  were  moving  at  all. 
Just  so  it  is  with  the  earth.  Its  motion  is  so  even  that  we  do 
not  feel  that  it  moves  at  all,  though  it  is  carrying  us  two  thousand 
times  as  fast  as  the  cars  carry  us  when  they  are  going  thirty-four 
miles  in  an  hour. 

It  is  true  that  we  look  away  from  the  earth  as  we  are  riding 
along  on  it  just  as  we  look  out  of  the  cars ; but  the  sun,  and 
moon,  and  stars  that  we  see  are  so  far  off  that  we  can  not  tell  by 
looking  at  them  that  the  earth  is  moving.  It  seems  to  us  to  be 
standing  still.  For  the  same  reason,  the  cars  do  not  seem  to  be 
moving  if  you  look  at  things  a great  way  off,  instead  of  those  that 
are  near  by. 


168 


THE  MOTION  OF  THE  EARTH. 


Mistakes  about  the  earth’s  mot'on.  Its  two  motions  illustrated. 

A great  many  mistakes  have  been  made  about  the  motion  of 
the  earth,  for  things  are  not  always  as  they  appear  to  be.  It 
seems  to  us  as  if  the  earth  did  not  move  at  all;  while  the  sun,  and 
moon,  and  stars  seem  to  move,  because  they  are  not  always  in  the 
same  direction  from  us.  We  look  one  way  for  them  at  one  time, 
and  another  way  at  another  time.  Now  they  do  move,  but  not 
in  the  way  that  they  appear  to  us.  The  sun  seems  to  rise,  and  go 
up  and  up,  and  then  go  down  in  the  west.  But  this  is  not  so. 
This  is  all  owing  to  a motion  of  the  earth  that  I have  not  yet  told 
you  about.  As  the  earth  goes  round  the  sun,  it  also  turns  every 
day  around  on  itself.  It  is  this  motion  that  makes  day  and  night 
for  us.  As  the  earth  thus  rolls  over,  where  the  sun  shines  upon 
it  it  is  day,  and  where  it  does  not  shine  upon  it  it  is  night. 

The  earth,  then,  has  two  motions.  First,  it  goes  round  the  sun. 
This,  as  I have  told  you,  takes  a year ; but  in  every  twenty-four 
hours  it  turns  over  also.  This  is  its  second  motion.  It  performs 
this  365  times  while  it  is  doing  the  first  motion  once. 

These  two  motions  can  be  made  plain  to  you  with  a candle  and 
some  round  thing,  as  an  orange.  Let  the  candle  represent  the 
sun.  Carry  the  orange  around  it  in  a circle,  and  this  will  repre- 
sent the  earth  going  round  the  sun.  Now,  by  turning  the  orange 
so  that  the  candle  will  shine  upon  one  part  of  it,  and  then  upon 
another,  and  so  on  all  around  it,  you  will  see  how  the  second  mo= 
tion  of  the  earth  is  done,  and  how  night  and  day  are  made.  Any 
thing  that  you  do  not  quite  understand  about  this  your  teacher 
will  explain  to  you. 

The  earth,  I have  told  you,  turns  around  on  itself  365  times  in 


THE  MOTION  OF  THE  EARTH. 


169 


Leap-year  explained.  Idea  of  a boy.  Galileo. 

a year.  But  there  is  one  thing  about  this  that  I must  mention  to 
you.  It  takes  about  six  hours  over  the  365  days  for  the  earth  to 
go  round  the  sun.  Now  what  is  done  with  this  six  hours  in  reck- 
oning the  year?  It  is  managed  in  this  way.  It  is  a quarter  part 
of  twenty-four  hours,  or  a day,  and  so,  to  make  the  reckoning 
come  right,  a day  is  added  every  fourth  year.  It  is  added  to  the 
month  of  February.  Every  fourth  year  this  month  has  twenty- 
nine  days  instead  of  twenty-eight,  and  the  year  is  called  leap  year. 

Astronomers  have  discovered  a great  many  things  about  the 
shape  and  the  motions  of  the  earth.  Before  these  were  under- 
stood, people  supposed  that  the  earth  was  still,  and  was  flat  in® 
stead  of  round,  and  that  the  sun  really  rose  in  the  east  and  set  in 
the  west ; and  it  seems  so  to  every  body  now  that  has  not  learned 
what  the  astronomers  have  discovered.  A bright  little  boy  said 
to  a lady  'who  was  teaching  him  about  the  earth,  You  don’t  mean 
to  say  that  the  world  is  round  ? I know  that  it  isn’t.  I can  see 
that  it  is  flat  with  my  own  eyes.  She  assured  him  that  the  earth 
was  round,  but  he  could  not  believe  it,  and  replied,  Well,  I shall 
ask  my  father,  for  gentlemen  commonly  know  more  about  such 
things  than  ladies  do.  You  will  think  it  strange  when  I tell  you 
that,  a little  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  people  generally 
believed  as  this  little  boy  did,  and  that  they  put  a learned  man, 
named  Galileo,  into  prison  because  he  said  that  the  earth  was 
round,  and  that  it  went  around  the  sun. 

You  will  want  to  know  something  about  the  motion  of  the 
moon.  As  the  earth  goes  round  the  sun,  so  the  moon  moves 
around  the  earth.  It  takes  a little  less  than  a month  for  it  to  get 


170 


THE  MOTION  OF  THE  EARTH. 


Why  we  see  only  a part  of  the  moon  most  of  the  time. 


round  the  earth,  and  it  goes  around  it  about  thirteen  times  a year. 
As  I have  told  you  in  another  chapter,  the  silvery  light  which  the 
moon  sheds  upon  us  is  the  light  of  the  sun  reflected  by  the  moon. 
Why  it  is  that  only  a part  of  the  moon  shines  upon  us  much  of 
the  time,  I will  explain  to  you.  When  there  is  a new  moon,  as  it 
is  termed,  the  moon  is  in  such  a position  that  we  can  see  only  a 
little  of  that  part  of  it  which  the  sun  shines  upon.  But  when  the 
moon  is  at  the  full,  it  is  in  such  a position  that  we  see  all  of  it 
that  is  lighted  up  by  the  sun.  So  when  the  moon  quarters,  as 
it  is  expressed,  we  see  but  a half  of  the  lighted  portion,  and  so 

on.  All  this  is  made 
plain  by  this  figure. 
S is  the  sun,  E is  the 
earth,  and  a , 6,  <?,  &c., 
the  moon  in  different 
© g positions.  When  the 
moon  is  at  a we  can 
not  see  any  of  it,  be- 
cause it  is  between 
the  earth  and  the  sun. 
The  sun  shines  upon 
the  half  of  the  moon  that  is  toward  it,  and  this  half  is  now  all 
away  from  our  sight.  As  it  leaves  a we  see  a little  of  it,  and  a 
little  more  every  night ; and  when  it  gets  to  h we  see  a quarter  of 
the  part  which  the  sun  shines  upon.  Then,  when  it  comes  to  c, 
we  see  half  of  it.  When  it  is  at  d we  see  rather  more  than  half : 
it  is  then  called  gibbous.  When  it  is  at  e we  can  see  the  whole 


THE  MOTION  OF  THE  EARTH. 


171 


Eclipse  of  the  moon  explained. 


of  the  lighted-up  part,  and  so  the  moon  is  full.  Then  aty*it  is 
gibbous  again,  and  at  g half  moon. 

And  now  you  will  want  to  know  how  an  eclipse  of  the  moon 
happens.  This  I can  make  plain  to  you  by  this  figure.  A B is 

the  sun,  C D the  earth, 
which  is  smaller  than  the 
sun,  and  M the  moon, 
which  is  much  smaller 
than  the  earth.  Now, 
as  the  sun  shines  upon 
the  earth,  there  is  a dark  shadow  beyond  the  earth,  as  represented. 
When  the  moon,  therefore,  happens  to  pass  through  this  shadow, 
it  is  in  the  dark,  and  no  one  on  the  earth  can  see  it  till  it  comes 
out  from  the  shadow.  While  it  is  in  the  shadow  there  is  an 
eclipse,  as  it  is  termed. 

Questions. — What  two  things  gradually  stop  the  going  up  of  a hall  in  the  air  ? 
Could  the  ball  stop  of  itself?  Why  can  you  set  yourself  going  and  stop  yourself? 
How  is  it  with  dead  matter  ? What  is  said  about  the  earth  ? How  fast  does  it 
move  ? How  do  you  know  about  the  motion  in  traveling  ? Why  is  it  that  some- 
times, when  the  cars  are  going  quite  fast,  you  scarcely  seem  to  be  moving  at  all  ? 
How  is  it  if  you  look  out  ? How  is  it  if  the  cars  come  to  a place  where  the  rails 
are  uneven,  or  where  there  is  a turn  in  the  road?  Give  the  comparison  about  look- 
ing out  of  the  cars  and  looking  away  from  the  earth.  Tell  about  the  mistakes  that 
have  been  made  about  the  motion  of  the  earth.  How  is  it  that  day  and  night  are 
made?  Tell  about  the  two  motions  of  the  earth.  Describe  how  you  would  make 
these  plain  with  a candle  and  an  orange.  Why  is  a day  added  to  every  fourth  year, 
making  it  leap  year  ? What  did  people  suppose  about  the  earth  and  sun  before  as- 
tronomers found  out  so  much  about  them?  Give  the  anecdote  of  the  little  boy. 
Tell  about  Galileo.  Tell  about  the  motion  of  the  moon.  Tell  about  the  new  moon 
and  the  full  moon.  Tell  about  the  eclipse  of  the  moon. 


172 


FRICTION. 


Walking  on  ice. 


Sleighing. 


Sliding  down  hill. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

FRICTION. 

Friction  sometimes  assists  motion,  and  sometimes  lessens  or 
prevents  it.  I will  tell  you  about  this  in  this  chapter. 

When  one  is  walking  on  ice,  he  finds  that  he  must  be  careful, 
and  he  gets  along  slowly.  The  reason  is  that  there  is  not  enough 
rubbing  or  friction  between  his  feet  and  the  ice.  When  he  walks 
on  the  ground,  the  .friction  between  his  feet  and  the  ground  keeps 
him  from  slipping,  and  he  walks  along  with  perfect  ease.  If  sand 
or  ashes  be  thrown  upon  the  ice,  the  difficulty  is  removed,  for  this 
makes  a friction  that  keeps  him  from  slipping. 

How  swiftly  the  horse  carries  the  sleigh  along  on  the  trodden 
snow ! It  is  because  there  is  so  little  friction  on  the  smooth  iron 
shoes  of  the  runners ; but  let  him  come  to  a spot  of  bare  ground, 
and  he  has  to  tug  very  hard  to  draw  the  sleigh  along,  because 
there  is  so  much  friction.  You  can  not  slide  down  hill  on  your 
sled  when  the  ground  is  bare,  simply  because  the  friction  is  so 
great ; but  you  can  roll  down  on  any  thing  that  has  wheels,  be- 
cause there  is  less  friction  with  wheels  than  with  runners. 

In  carrying  heavy  loads  in  carts  down  steep  hills,  there  is  a con- 
trivance,  which  perhaps  you  have  seen,  to  keep  the  carts  from  go- 
ing down  too  fast.  At  the  top  of  the  hill  the  teamster  stops  his 
team,  and  fastens  upon  one  of  the  wheels  an  iron  shoe  in  such  a 
way  as  to  keep  the  wheel  from  turning  round.  The  rubbing  of 


FRICTION. 


173 


Driving-wheels  of  the  locomotive. 


Frosty  rails. 


this  wheel  with  its  shoe  upon  the  ground  makes  the  load  go  down 
slowly,  and  therefore  safely. 

It  is  the  steam  in  the  locomotive  that  makes  it  go.  Did  you 
ever  think  how  it  does  this  ? It  is  by  friction.  This  I will  ex- 
plain to  you.  You  see  the  large  wheels  of  the  locomotive.  These 
are  called  the  driving-wheels,  because  it  is  the  whirling  round  of 
these  that  makes  the  locomotive  go.  These  wheels  are  whirled 
around  by  the  steam  machinery,  as  you  can  plainly  see.  It  is 
different  with  the  small  wheels.  They  turn  because  the  locomo- 
tive goes.  It  is  just  as  the  wheels  of  a carriage  turn  round  when 
the  horse  draws  it  along.  So  the  large  wheels  are  to  the  locomo- 
tive what  a horse  is  to  a carriage,  while  the  small  wheels  do  as  the 
common  wheels  of  a carriage  do. 

Now  see  how  it  is  that  the  driving-wheels  carry  along  the  loco- 
motive. They  do  it  by  their  rubbing  on  the  rails  of  the  road. 
If  the  rails  and  the  wheels  were  very  smooth  indeed,  the  locomo- 
tive would  not  get  along  so  well.  We  sometimes  see  this  in  a 
frosty  morning,  when  the  rails  are  very  slippery.  With  the  rails 
so  smooth,  the  wheels  slip ; and  they  slip  back  as  readily  as  for- 
ward, just  as  it  is  with  any  one  walking  on  the  ice.  They  some- 
times throw  some  sand  on  the  rails  when  they  are  icy  to  give  the 
locomotive  a start,  as  people  scatter  sand  and  ashes  on  icy  side- 
walks that  they  may  walk  easily  on  them. 

After  the  wheels  of  a locomotive  are  once  well  started  on  the 
frosty  rails,  they  will  go  well  enough.  Indeed,  it  is  sometimes 
rather  difficult  to  stop  them,  because  they  slide  along  so  easily,  for 
the  motion  is  partly  sliding  and  partly  rolling  when  the  rails  are 


174 


FRICTION. 


Operation  of  brakes. 


Oiling  machinery.  Joints  of  our  bodies. 


so  smooth.  It  is  for  the  same  reason  that  one  can  not  stop  easily 
when  he  is  running  on  the  ice.  If  he  is  running  on  the  ground, 
he  can  stop  very  readily,  because  the  ground  is  rough,  and  his 
feet  rub  upon  it,  and  they  do  not  slip  as  they  do  on  the  ice. 

The  way  that  brakes,  as  they  are  called,  stop  a train  of  cars,  I 
will  explain  to  you.  You  know  that  the  brakeman  on  each  car 
turns  around  a ring-like  thing  as  hard  as  he  can  when  the  signal  is 
given  to  stop  the  cars.  In  doing  this,  he  brings  the  brakes  against 
the  wheels  of  the  cars,  and  the  rubbing  soon  stops  them. 

When  they  want  to  stop  the  cars  very  quickly,  they  do  anoth- 
er thing  besides  using  the  brakes.  They  manage  to  make  the 
driving-wheels  of  theJocomotive  roll  backward  instead  of  forward. 
In  this  way  the  rubbing  is  backward  on  the  rails ; and  as  long  as 
the  locomotive  is  going  forward,  the  wheels  slide  forward  instead 
of  rolling,  as  they  commonly  do. 

You  see  that  sometimes  we  want  friction,  and  sometimes  the 
less  we  have  of  it  the  better.  We  want  the  friction  of  the  driv- 
ing-wheels of  a locomotive  on  the  track.  But  in  the  middle  of 
these  wheels,  where  they  turn  round  on  their  axles,  we  want  to 
have  as  little  friction  as  possible.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  all 
the  wheels  of  the  cars  and  of  the  locomotive  are^kept  oiled  at  this 
part.  So,  also,  we  grease  the  wheels  of  carriages  and  oil  the 
joints  of  machinery  to  lessen  the  friction.  You  will  recollect  that 
in  the  chapter  on  the  bones,  in  Part  Second,  I told  you  that  the 
joints  of  our  bodies  are  tipped  with  a very  smooth  substance,  and 
that  they  are  kept  oiled,  so  that  there  may  be  little  friction  in  their 
motions. 


FRICTION. 


175 


Friction  t>y  water  and  air. 


Earth  moves  round  the  sun  without  friction. 


Friction  is  not  confined  to  solid  substances.  Any  substance 
can  make  friction.  Water  can  do  it.  The  rocks  over  which  it 
Hows,  or  against  which  it  dashes,  are  worn  by  its  constant  friction, 
just  as  the  constant  friction  of  passing  feet  in  the  course  of  years 
wears  the  stone  steps  of  a building  which  is  much  frequented. 

Air,  too,  makes  friction.  It  is  by  friction  that  the  air,  moving 
along  over  the  smooth  water,  raises  it  into  waves ; and  it  is  the 
friction  of  the  air,  as  it  passes  over  a field  of  grain,  that  gives  it 
the  wavy  motion  which  makes  it  so  beautiful. 

Wherever  there  is  motion  on  the  earth,  it  is  lessened  more  or 
less  by  friction.  Nothing  moves  without  rubbing  something,  but 
this  is  not  so  with  the  earth  as  it  goes  around  the  sun.  As  it  flies 
through  space  so  swiftly,  it  rubs  against  nothing,  not  even  against 
air,  for  the  air,  as  I have  told  you,  goes  along  with  it. 

Questions. — What  does  friction  do  ? What  is  said  about  walking  on  ice  ? What 
about  sleighing  and  sliding  down  hill  ? What  is  the  contrivance  for  making  heav- 
ily-loaded carts  go  down  steep  hills  safely  ? How  does  the  steam  make  the  loco- 
motive go  ? What  is  the  difference  between  the  driving-wheels  and  the  small 
wheels?  What  comparison  is  made  about  these  two  kinds  of  wheels?  How  do 
the  driving-wheels  move  the  locomotive  along  ? What  is  said  about  the  rails  being 
too  smooth?  How  is  the  difficulty  remedied?  How  is  it  after  the  locomotive  is 
well  agoing  when  the  rails  are  slippery  ? What  is  the  comparison  about  running  on 
the  ice?  How  do  brakes  operate  in  stopping  the  cars?  What  else  is  done  when 
they  want  to  stop  the  cars  quickly  ? What  is  said  about  greasing  and  oiling 
wheels  ? What  is  said  about  the  joints  of  machinery  and  the  joints  of  our  bodies  ? 
What  is  said  about  the  friction  of  water  on  rocks?  What  about  the  friction  of  air? 
What  is  true  of  all  motion  on  the  earth  ? What  is  said  about  the  earth  as  it  goes 
around  the  sun  ? 


176 


CONCLUSION. 


Very  many  things  to  he  learned  in  this  world. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

CONCLUSION. 

I have  thus,  in  the  Three  Parts  of  this  book,  described  to  you 
some  of  the  wonderful  things  that  are  all  around  you  upon  the  earth 
and  in  the  water.  But  there  are  many  more  things  than  I have 
described.  In  this  book  you  have  only  begun  to  learn  what  is  in 
the  world,  and  you  could  not  learn  all  if  you  should  study  all 
your  lifetime,  and  even  if  your  life  should  be  as  long  as  Methuse- 
lah’s was.  But  I hope  that  you  will  go  on  to  learn  as  much  as 
you  can.  With  your  mind  wide  awake,  you  will  see  and  hear,  as 
you  go  about  from  day  to  day,  a great  many  interesting  things 
that  I have  not  mentioned.  I have  told  you  about  many  things 
in  plants ; but  if  you  look  at  different  plants  as  you  meet  with 
them,  you  will  soon  see  that  you  can  learn  much  about  them  that 
you  can  not  find  any  where  in  this  book.  So,  also,  if  you  watch 
animals,  large  and  small,  as  you  see  them,  you  will  find  many 
more  interesting  things  in  them  than  I have  told  you.  And  the 
same  is  true  of  the  subjects  of  the  Third  Part — air,  water,  light, 
etc.  I have  only  opened  to  you  a few  of  the  leaves  in  the  Book 
of  Nature,  and  you  can  go  on  to  open  more  of  them  for  yourselves. 
To  know  much  about  things,  you  must  not  merely  look  at  therm 
You  must  examine  them — that  is,  you  must  think  while  you  look. 
You  must  think  what  this  is  for  and  what  that  is  for.  In  this 
way  you  can  find  out  a great  deal  for  yourselves.  You  will  not 


CONCLUSION. 


177 


Think  while  you  look. 


Every  fact  valuable. 


merely  see  that  what  I and  others  tell  you  is  true,  but  you  will 
find  out  things  that  no  one  has  told  you,  and  perhaps  some  things 
that  no  one  has  found  out  before  you.  Newton,  who  found  out  so 
many  things  that  men  did  not  before  know,  always  thought  about 
things  as  he  saw  them;  and  so  did  Franklin,  wdio,  as  you  remem- 
ber, discovered  that  lightning  is  electricity.  They  began  early, 
when  they  were  children,  to  think  while  they  looked.  They  had 
a habit  of  doing  it.  If  they  had  not,  they  would  not  have  been 
such  discoverers.  Though  perhaps  none  of  you  may  ever  discov- 
er as  many  things  or  as  great  things  as  they  did,  any  of  you  may 
make  some  discoveries.  Though  your  discoveries  may  be  small 
ones,  they  are  not  to  be  despised.  They  will  be  worth  something. 
Every  fact  that  is  found  out  is  of  some  value . And  if  you  al- 
ways think  while  you  see  and  hear,  you  may  find  out  for  your- 
selves many  facts,  and  some  of  them  may  prove  to  be  of  great 
value. 

Sometimes  a fact  that  would  appear  to  be  of  no  value  turns  out 
to  be  worth  a great  deal.  Most  people  would  not  think  that  there 
was  much  to  be  learned  from  a hen’s  muddy  tracks  on  a pile  of 
sugar ; but,  as  you  remember  I told  you  in  Part  First,  Chapter 
XXIX.,  some  one  observed  the  fact  that  the  sugar  was  whitened 
wherever  the  tracks  were,  and  thought  about  this  fact ; and  the 
result  was  that  moistened  clay  came  to  be  used  in  every  sugar  re- 
finery in  whitening  sugar. 

One  that  is  in  the  habit  of  thinking  while  he  looks  will  find 
something  interesting  wherever  he  goes.  He  will  not  be  obliged 
to  go  to  some  museum  to  see  wonderful  things,  but  he  will  find 
3 M 


178 


CONCLUSION. 


Much  to  be  learned  that  is  not  in  books. 


Knowing  the  reasons  of  things. 


them  all  about  him.  In  the  most  common  plants  and  animals, 
which  most  people  do  not  think  of  much,  he  will  see  many  things 
to  interest  and  astonish  him ; and  to  him  the  air  and  the  water, 
and  even  the  stones  under  his  feet,  will  be  full  of  wonders. 

You  see  by  what  I have  said  that  there  is  a great  deal  to  be 
learned  that  is  not  in  books.  Indeed,  books  will  not  do  you  much 
good  if  they  do  not  wake  up  in  you  a disposition  to  learn  more 
than  they  tell  you.  People  that  know  much  are  not  content  with 
learning  merely  what  they  find  in  books,  but  learn  what  they  can 
from  every  body  and  from  every  thing.  They  use  books  only  as 
helps,  and  the  most  of  what  they  know  they  learn  by  observing — 
that  is,  seeing  and  thinking  upon  what  they  see. 

It  is  very  pleasant  to  know  the  reasons  of  things.  I have 
therefore  told  you  in  this  book,  as  I have  gone  along,  as  much  as 
I could  do,  why  things  are  as  I have  described  them ; but  you 
will  remember  that  I have  now  and  then  said  about  some  things 
that  you  are  not  old  enough  yet  to  understand  them.  As  you 
grow  older  you  can  learn  more  and  more,  and  so  the  things  that 
you  will  be  interested  in  will  be  all  the  time  increasing.  But, 
though  you  may  keep  on  learning  all  your  lives,  there  are  some 
things  that  you  never  can  understand.  God  understands  the  rea- 
sons of  every  thing,  but  there  are  many,  very  many  things  that 
the  wisest  of  men  can  not  explain. 

Very  wise  men  are  not  apt  to  be  proud  of  their  wisdom.  They 
commonly’ feel  that  what  they  know  is  very  little  when  it  is  com- 
pared with  what  they  do  not  know.  Newton  was  one  of  the  wis- 
est men  that  ever  lived.  He  was  so  wise  that  he  discovered  more 


CONCLUSION. 


179 


"What  Newton  said  about  what  he  knew.  Our  knowledge  in  another  world. 


things  than  any  other  man  ever  has.  But  he  was  very  humble 
about  his  knowledge.  He  said  this  about  it : He  felt  that  what 
he  knew  was  like  a few  pebbles  that  he  had  picked  up  on  the 
sea-shore,  and  that  there  was  so  much  of  what  he  did  not  know 
that  it  was  like  the  great  ocean  that  was  before  him. 

You  remember  that  I told  you  in  Part  Second  that  all  that  we 
know  we  learn  by  the  senses  of  our  bodies — the  sight,  the  hear- 
ing, etc.  But  the  glorified  bodies  which  the  Bible  says  that  we 
shall  have  in  another  life  will  be  fitted  with  better  means  of  get- 
ting knowledge.  Some  things  that  are  mysterious  to  us  now  we 
shall  then  understand.  We  shall  know  more  than  Newton  and 
all  the  wise  men  of  this  world  ever  knew  here,  and  we  shall  ever 
be  learning  more  and  more  of  the  wonders  of  God’s  power,  and 
wisdom,  and  goodness. 

Questions. — What  is  said  about  learning  all  that  is  in  the  world  ? How  can  you 
learn  about  things  for  yourselves  ? What  is  said  about  Newton  and  Franklin  ? 
Can  you  make  some  discoveries  ? What  is  said  about  the  value  of  facts  ? What 
about  finding  wonders  all  around  us  ? How  can  books  help  you  to  learn  more  than 
is  in  them?  What  is  said  about  understanding  the  reasons  of  things?  What  is 
said  about  the  feelings  of  very  wise  men?  Tell  what  Newton  said  about  his  knowl- 
edge. What  is  said  about  our  getting  knowledge  in  another  world  ? 


THE  END. 


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